Three Of A Kind
by Mad-Eye-Maddi
Summary: The Master wasn't shot and he and the Doctor have come up with a plan to get Rose. 10 Simm Master. A bit of an AU and a lil OOC. Better sumarry inside. 10Rose, MasterRose Friendship, JackMaster hate...Martha coming soon 4 you Martha fans. please R&R L8er
1. Chapter 1

- Three Of A Kind -

By - Mad Eye Maddi

**Plot- **The Master was never shot in the '_Last of the Timelords'_ and he and the Doctor have been travelling throughout time and space ever since. With time, the two of them have revived their friendship, and the Master has earned almost all of his freedoms back.  
However, over their time together, he has noticed that the Doctor seems to be missing this Rose that he is always talking about, so the two Timelords have decided to find a way to get to the parallel world, and find her.

**Authors Note: **I'm sorry, I have done a rotten job at keeping everyone in character, so this is a slightly OOC fic. Apart from that, I hope that you like it, and please review, because reviews are the bricks in the wall of my education.

**- Chapter One - Concocting Plans -**

**It** was late into the night inside the TARDIS, a time when normally, the occupants of the ancient time and space machine would fast asleep in their chosen rooms. But not tonight. The control room tonight, like so many other nights of late, was resembling the lounge room of an earth home, that was being used as the campsite for a sleep over…which essentially it was.

Empty cans of drink and packets of crisps were strewn across the grating floor of the impossibly large room, and at the far side of the room, to Timelords were lying on top of their makeshift blanket beds, discussing their latest plan.

"What if we flushed the system then reversed the-" began the Master keenly, only to be interrupted by the Doctor, who shook his head and countered, "That would only fry the tempus-modulator, and probably rip the old girl to shreds."

From his spot on the floor, the Master shot the glowing control panel a contemptuous glaring, muttering mainly to himself, "That wouldn't be such a bad thing, got an attitude on her this one."

The Doctor burst out laughing, as the TARDIS responded with a distinctly smug hum, and a small zap that made the Master jump in alarm.

Rolling his eyes at his companion, who was cursing fluently under his breath, that Doctor asked nonchalantly, "Sooo, you got any more ideas, or are you just going to keep on seething about my TARDIS."

Rolling onto his stomach, the Master sigh deeply, and scratched the back of his head in thought. Then an idea struck. Slowly he suggested, "What if we go to that rift running through Cardiff…and get _Captain Jack_ to open it up for us-"

"He wouldn't do that," interrupted the Doctor immediately, pushing himself up into a sitting position and crossing his legs, still shaking his head admittedly. "Last time that happened, it was a complete disaster. They let out some great big beast tha-"

The Master rolled his eyes, a smug grin plastered on his face and held up a hand to stop the Doctor mid-rant, saying, "But if we were there in the TARDIS, to control what was coming through, then we would be able to stop all of the nasty stuff coming through, and find your little 'Alternate Universe'."

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something, but then a look of confusion flickered across his features, and he closed it. This happened two more times, before the Doctor announced, very slowly, "That. Could. Actually. Work."

For a second, the Master looked like he was offended, but ruined the effect when he broke into a grin, and retorted smugly, "Course it will work, _**I**_ came up with it, I'm the Master…remember."

"It haunts my every waking hour," quipped the Doctor, jumping to his feet, and racing over to the controls, setting in the co-ordinates and grinning at the Master, who swaggered over casually and leant on the captains seat, "Next stop, Cardiff 2008!"

**-- Doctor Who --**

It was just past twelve o'clock in Cardiff, and Captain Jack Harkness could be found, locked in his office, held prisoner by the menace that is UNIT…well, UNIT paperwork to be exact.  
Torchwood Three was a close team, nobody would argue with that, but when it came down to paperwork, there was no mercy at all. Owen had been the first to dump his files on Jack's desk, then Gwen, then Toshiko, and even Ianto.  
It was hardly fair, that he be stuck with all of this paperwork, just because he went AWOL for a few (_twelve) _months.

With a deep, suffering sigh, Jack leaned back in his chair, wincing as his spine cracked rather loudly, and stared sourly at the monumental stack of paperwork that he had left to do.

However a lovely distraction presented itself to the captain, in the form of a ringing mobile. Digging frantically through the avalanche of democratic nonsense, Jack laughed triumphantly as he pulled out a mobile, emitting a nauseatingly bouncy tune, and pressed down on the answer button.

"Hello, Captain Jack Harkness speaking."

There was a loud crackling and a good amount of static from the other end of the line, but the voice that answered was unmistakeable, "Hey Jack…um- we were in the neighbourhood, and thought we might pop in…you know, say hi, what's the time by the way?"

"It's quarter past twelve," answered Jack, a grin spreading over his face. 'When were you thinking of coming Doctor?"

"Well, if it's not too much trouble," began the Doctor, his voice on the phone soon replaced with a loud droning that seemed to be emanating from the middle of the hub. His suspicions were confirmed when Tosh, Gwen and Owen all shouted in surprise and alarm, the latter yelling, "Jack, there's a bloody police box materialising in the hub."

The droning stopped as Jack ran down the stairs leading from his office. The TARDIS door swung open, and the Doctor bounded out happily, beaming up at him, and concluding, "We thought now might be a good time."

The Master slowly and grudgingly stepped out of the police box, looking like he would have much rather walked into a vacuum lock without a suit.

With a small smirk tugging at his lips, Ianto walked up to the pair of travellers, and asked, "Would you like your usual coffee?"

Still beaming, the Doctor turned to the young Welshman, and answered, "Nah, we're fine for now Yan, thanks."

Ianto nodded, his smirk growing as he caught sight of Owen's bewildered expression.

Jack walked up to them, grinning and shaking the Doctor's hand, saying happily, "Nice to see you again Doctor." He then turned his attention to the other Timelord, his grin turning to a cold glare, saying callously," Master."

"Captain," replied the Master, mirroring Jack perfectly, from his tone of voice to the clenched fists.

Tosh, Gwen and Owen all exchanged perplexed glances, at their bosses uncharacteristically rude behaviour towards the man…and possibly the man's name as well. Ianto however, merely rolled his eyes at the behaviour of the two, and continued drinking from his mug of hot coffee, watching the exchange.

Owen, well and truly sick of being left in the dark, stepped forward, and demanded more than asked, "Alright, does anyone mind telling me, who the hell you are?" After a couple of seconds of thought, he added quickly, "And how did you get a police box to materialise in the middle of the hub."

The Doctor rolled his eyes as he heard the Master mutter under his breath, "Stupid little ape", before answering, "Well, I'm the Doctor, and old friend of Jack's., and this is the Master, a companion of mine-"

"Not by choice mind you," interrupted the Master.

"Oi, if it wasn't for me, you would have been executed genius," retorted the Doctor.

The Master scoffed at this, and replied, "I doubt that…Humans just love their precious guilt."

Sighing, the Doctor turned back to the rest of the team, and announced, "Just ignore him, we have this argument daily. Any way, I'm the Doctor and he is the Master."

"And it's not a police box you stunted little ape," added the Master before the Doctor could stop him. "It's a TARDIS, that just looks like a Police Box…all of the time."

The last bit was directed at the Doctor, who pulled on a look of shocked hurt, and patted the door of the TARDIS lovingly, defending, "I like it, sort of retro don't you think."

Owen however was seething, and made a furious step towards the Master, only to be held back by Tosh and Gwen, growling, "I am not a stunted little ape."

"Anyway," interrupted Jack, sending Owen a pointed glance, before returning his gaze to the two visitors, "What are you two after?"

The Doctor feigned a look of hurt, placing a hand instinctively on his right heart, before glancing around at his human company, and quickly moving to his left, saying in a voice of fake sincerity, "Jack I'm wounded. You act like whenever I see you I'm after something…-wait?"

"Yes you are," insisted Jack, pointing at the Master and saying, "Last time, you two got sick of each others company and I had to deal with him all night."

The Master grinned mischievously, and winked at Ianto, saying happily, "You have an evil mastermind potential in you young Ianto."

Jack sighed exasperatedly as Ianto grinned at the comment, relieved to see the amusement in the Welshman's eyes, but still irritated at the reaction. "Yes, thanks for that, now _him_ and Ianto are best friends."

"You know, _him_ has a name," stated the Master pointedly.

"You enslaved the planet, and held me, the Doctor and Martha's family prisoner, sorry, that sort of turns you off a person," bit back Jack, his fist clenching tighter.

"Oh thank goodness for that, I'm not particularly fond of you either you freak!"

"Maniac!"

"Impossible Twat!"

"Psychotic wannabe-dictator!"

Soon enough both Jack and the Master were standing inches away from one another, fists clenched tight, and yelling curses in languages that the TARDIS thankfully, had decided best not to translate.  
The Doctor grabbed hold of the Masters arms, and pulled him away from Jack, as Ianto did the same with said Captain.

"I was wrong, let's just go," spat the Master, not taking his eyes off of Jack, glaring daggers at him…a glower that Jack returned tenfold.

Taking a deep breath, the Doctor turned his gaze from his struggling companion, to Jack, who was also struggling against Ianto, and said clearly, and as firmly as he could, "Jack look, I need you to do me a favour…I need you to open the rift for me."

A stunned silence swept over the hub, only broken by the Master's and Jack's heavy, aggravated breathing.  
Jack fixed the Doctor with a look of utter shock, confusion also written plainly on his features…but within seconds, his shock gave way to suspicion. His eyes narrowed, and he turned to the Master, who was grinning smugly at him, and he growled, "This was your idea wasn't it? What are you playing at this time?"

"Oh come on Jack," chuckled the Master in a condescending voice. "If I was trying to escape, or conquer the world again, do you honestly think I am just going to tell you just like that so that you can work out a way to stop me, I don't think!"

Rolling his eyes, the Doctor looked back at Jack, and gave him his best pleading voice, "Jack, I know what happened last time, but if we are here in the TARDIS, than we could monitor what comes through, and then you can close the rift again once we find what we're looking for."

"And what is it that is so important that you want to tear a hole in time and space Doctor?" asked Jack, looking torn between exasperated and curious.

Knowing that honesty is the best policy with Jack, the Doctor replied sincerely, "Jack, we're looking for a parallel Earth…we're looking for Rose."

It took hardly a second for this to register with Jack, his features turning from angry, to vulnerably hopeful, asking in a voice hardly above a whisper, "You found a way?"

"Yeah…well the Master did, but it will work, I know it will," answered the Doctor, his excitement leaking into his voice. "Jack, we can get her back…I just need your help."

There was a short pause, broken when Jack clapped his hands together and announced, "Alright team, to work then."

The Doctor grinned, gave Jack a quick overview of everything that needed to be done, thanked him and then dashed back into the TARDIS.

The Master turned to walk inside also, but found himself pushed roughly against the side of the tall, blue box instead, Jack gripping the collar of his Jacket tightly and pushing him painfully hard against the wood.

"If you are just toying with him…or this is a plan to get free…you can regenerate all you want, I will kill you each time," he growled into his ear, giving him a hard shove and then walking back to his team to discuss what they had to do.

**There we go- Chapter one, hope you like it, and please review, because **Reviews are the bricks in the wall of my education. **Um, obviously I don't own Doctor who, and it's characters, etc, etc…I wish I could get me a Jack, Doctor and Master…but I can't- and it vexes me so. Oh well, hope you like the next chapter,**

_**Later**_

_**Maddi**_


	2. Chapter 2

**- Chapter Two - The Plans In Motion -**

**The **Master walked back into the TARDIS, moodily straightening his jacket, and rubbing the no doubt bruise-in-the-making on his chest, thinking very nasty thoughts indeed about Jack.

However, racing around the control panel, and not looking up from his work, the Doctor was the image of enthusiasm, asking as he walked closer, "Where've you been."

The excitement in his voice was obvious, and as it was, the pinstripe-clad Timelord was practically jumping up and down, and as much as he hated himself for it…the Master didn't want to ruin this for his friend.

So he answered casually, "Oh, just…talking to Ianto."

"That's good," answered the Doctor, trying to reach a button on the other side of the console while holding a lever up with his left foot. Sighing in frustration, the Doctor shot the Master a pleading look, and asked, "Called you press the _do-hicky_?"

The Master grinned, pressing down on the button, and saying, "Isn't that the what-ya-call-it? Doctor did you even take the test for this thing."

The Doctor looked up from the glowing buttons defensively, and retorted, "Yeah I did, and I did just as good as you."

The Master winced, before muttering under his breath, "Not so good then."

The Doctor let out an exhilarated laugh as the TARDIS jerked violently forward, throwing both of them to the ground.  
They jumped up, and started to press buttons, pull levers, spin wheels and thump unco-operative instruments with a mallet, as he and the Master attempted to keep what history had to offer, from flying out to the middle of Cardiff.

Within a minute of opening the rift, the TARDIS began to emit enthusiastic beeps, and the Doctor looked over to the Master, yelling excitedly over the noise, "That's it…that's Rose's world!"

The Master grinned, setting back to his work at keeping a German air raid of WWII in WWII.  
The Doctor quickly set the co-ordinates for the Parallel earth, and then he and the Master set to work at closing the rift, as Jack and the team did so outside in the hub.

Suddenly their was a loud bump, and the TARDIS took off through its new portal.

The Doctor was too busy working on the readouts, making sure that nothing had indeed gotten through…to see the Master sneakily flick a switch or push a button as he walked around the panel.

As soon as he was finished, the phone rang, and the Master sighed irritably, saying, "Don't answer it, it's just Harkness calling to see if I knocked you round the head with a candlestick or something."

The Doctor laughed and picked up the phone, and sure enough Jack was at the other end of the line.

"Doctor. Did it work? Nothing came through this end. Are you alright?"

"Yeah Jack I'm fine, we're just arriving now…I am almost certain that it worked, look I promise we'll come back really soon."

"Yes!" cried Jack, his joy clear in his voice. "Right, I'll see you soon, good luck."

The Master was surprised to say the least, when the Doctor slammed down the phone, and pulled him into a painfully tight hug, muttering thankyou's into his shoulder so quickly it was all beginning to sound like one word.

Thoroughly uncomfortable, the Master gave the Doctor an awkward pat on the head, before saying, "Your welcome…um- maybe we should go and see if we're in the right spot."

The Doctor let go of him, thankfully, and ran to the door, still beaming… the Master quick at his heels…for curiosity reason I assure you.

They came out of the blue police box, to find that they had landed in the middle of a large, familiar hall.

The Doctor was literally jumping up and down for joy, grabbing hold of the Master's shoulder and shaking it happily, announcing, "This is it…this is her dad's place…we did it!"

The Master shot him a grin, however both that and the one on the Doctor's face slid off, replaced but looks of terror, as a middle aged, bleach blonde, cockney woman came storming up to them, shouting angrily, "I have had it up to here with you landing that bloody box wherever you please Doctor! Outside where everyone can see you is bad enough, but in the middle of the house Doctor?…Oh my God Doctor it's you! I don't believe it!"

The woman grabbed both him and the Master into a rib cracking hug, only pulling back when she heard the Master whisper anxiously, "This wasn't the one you were after was it Doctor…I mean I know you have strange tastes but- Ow!!"

The Master staggered back in shock, trying to put as much space between himself and the fuming woman as possible.

"Nope, this is her mother," announced the Doctor, "Jackie Tyler…slaps as a means of com- OW!!"

The Doctor staggered back also, pressing a hand to his now burning cheek, and backing up with the Master, as she advanced on them, hand raised for another hit and screaming shrilly, "I'll give you _means of communication_ you arrogant-"

However she was interrupted by the front door swinging open, to reveal the Rose and Pete Tyler, the latter carrying numerous shopping bags labelled with the names of various clothing stores, and looking like he sorely regretted having a daughter who could and would shop until he dropped…and then some.

Rose's jaw dropped, as she and Pete took in the scene in front of them. In the middle of the room, her mother was standing with her hand raised in a particularly threatening way, looking furious. And only one man she knew could make Jackie Tyler that angry, and it just so happened that he was backed up against a tall, old, blue police box parked in the middle of the room.

"Oh my god Doctor!" she cried, racing over to the man in the brown pinstriped suit, who was beaming back at her and swept her into an overjoyed hug.

The Master, Jackie and Pete watched as the Doctor spun Rose around, the odd, 'I don't believe it's you," escaping the embracing couple. The Doctor put Rose down, and raced over to the Master, holding her hand.

"Rose, this is the Master, he's the reason we got here," he announced, grinning ear to ear.

The Master gave her a small smile but yelped in surprise, as the third person in ten minutes completely disregarded his personal space, and grabbed him in a tight hug.

"What sort of name is the Master?" spoke up Jackie from behind the trio. "That's as bad as the Doctor, wait…are you one of those Timekings?"

A smirk once again settled itself on the Master's features, and he corrected, "Timelord…and yeah that's me."

Rose looked from the Doctor, to the Master, and back to the Doctor again, and said in a shocked voice, "Oh my god…I thought they were all supposed to be dead." Suddenly realising how that had come out, she clapped a hand to her mouth, and turned to the Master, gasping apologetically, "Sorry, that came out wrong."

The Master let out a chuckle at this, while the Doctor was once again bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, answering, "They are…but this guy is as impossible as Jack."

"Don't compare me to the likes of Jack Harkness," snapped the Master indignantly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Jack Harkness? Captain Jack Harkness? His dead isn't he?" asked Rose, ignoring Jackie, who had begun a tirade about how a young girl shouldn't be living with so many men.

The Doctor seemed to be also, because he answered happily, "Oh he's not dead…well, he was, but not anymore…he's immortal."

The Master scoffed at this, and muttered, "Because he's too obnoxious to stay dead."

"You two obviously get on," smirked Rose.

"Oh, he's still sour about me taking over the planet…I mean honestly," replied the Master, saying it so callously one would think Jack was throwing a hissy-fit over a scratch on the SUV

Obviously Jackie and Pete didn't think so, exclaiming in unison, "You took over the planet?!"

The Master held up his hands in defence, saying, "Steady on, only for a year…until someone went and ruined it for me!"

The Doctor smirked and retorted, "_Someone_ had to ruin it for you before you declared war on the universe!"

Then the Doctor noticed that Rose had a look of complete shock on her face…and he knew her better than to think it was about the Master's attempt at world domination.

She turned to him, shock and confusion sparkling in her eyes, before she stuttered, "S-so..it has been a week for you then?"

The Doctor's jaw dropped, and he stuttered exasperatedly, "A week- it's been just a- It's been two and a half years for me Rose Tyler."

Roses eyes filled with tears, and she gave him a watery smile and asked, "You hadn't given up on me yet?"

The Doctor grinned and picked her up in another hug, whispering "Never."

He put Rose down, and she asked nervously, "Can I still travel with you, or do you want it to be just you an-"

"Are you mad?! Why do ya reckon we came," grinned the Doctor. "Do you still wanna come?"

"Of course I do…but wait, would I be able to get back to see Mum and Dad…and Mickey and Jake?" she asked worriedly.

The Doctor scratched the back of his head, thinking of the best way to put together his answer, but was beaten to it by the Master, who replied…to the surprise to everybody in the room, "Yep, I was able to secure the temporal flux, by configuring--…the TARDIS can go between dimensions as she chooses now."

The Doctor looked over at him in surprise, and muttered, "I didn't know you did that."

"You keep forgetting Doctor…I'm brilliant!" replied the Master smugly, as the Doctor gaped at him, saying that that line was copyright to him as Rose laughed at the two of them. "Besides it was easy, just a flick here and a switch there and hey-presto, instant portal…you were busy looking at the readouts."

Rose grinned, kissed the Master on the cheek, and ran up to her room to pack. Jackie walked up to them, and the two Timelords, instantly backed back against the TARDIS until their backs hit the hard wood.

She pointed a threatening finger into both of their faces, and warned, "You both better look after her…or time machine or not, I will hunt you down."

Both the Master and the Doctor nodded obediently, and sighed in relief as she turned around and stood next to her husband. For almost ten minutes they made awkward conversation, until Rose came bounding down the stairs two at a time, and kissed her Mum and Dad goodbye, asking them to say goodbye to Mickey and Jake before racing into the TARDIS with the Doctor and Master.

"You bring her back soon Doctor!" called Jackie as the TARDIS dematerialised, and all that was left was a couple of flakes of dried blue paint,

**Hope ya like it. Please keep reading, and please review because reviews are **the bricks in the wall of my education.


	3. Chapter 3

**- Chapter Three - Settling Back In -**

**The** Master looked around in disbelief again, and sighed as he returned his gaze to the fire engine red counter of _Uncle Joes Fish and Chips_. How he had gotten to this, he would never be able to figure out. From ruler of the world to buying party of some packets of chips, he looked around in confusion once more.

"Hey dude, you're in a fish and chip shop," drawled the pimply teenage boy from behind the counter, smirking slightly.

The Master rolled his eyes, and retorted sarcastically, "Really? Did you work that out all by yourself?"

The kid smirked wider, and asked, "So, what ya say to ya lady pal to get 'er so peeved off at ya?"

The Master glowered at the teenager, and asked, "What gives you the idea she annoyed at me?"

The kid grinned, and answered, "Cos ya got a lovely imprint of a hand across the side of ya face, and I doubt it's your mates cos 'e's got one too, but then again…ya not queer are ya?"

The Master gaped at the impertinent teenager, who was smirking smugly at him. "Me, with him- I have met a lot of stupid apes, but god…it was her mother for your information you stunted little monkey!"

The kid scowled at him, and moodily handed over three tightly wrapped paper packets to a smug looking Master, who took them and walked out of the tiny little shop. He crossed the road, and walked over to the table in the park that the Doctor and Rose were sitting at.

Before he reached them, the Master saw the Doctor gesturing erratically like he did whenever he was explaining something, and Rose wearing a confused expression of a person who had just been told a lot of stuff in a short amount of time. Dread flooded the Master as he sat down, and handed out the chips without looking over at the two on the other side of the table.

He fiddled with his own chips, trying not to make eye contact with the Doctor or Rose, because they were sure to be giving him the same looks of hatred and disgust that he always got from Jack, or the ones he got from the Jones family…and Lucy. _God, how do these monkeys get to me?!_

"Um, I'm just trying to workout timelines here, so just bear with me for a bit yeah. Okay, so year and a half ago, you took over the world…became Prime Minister and everything?" she asked.

The Master gave a small nod and answered, still looking into his chips, "Yes." he tried to make it sound callous, and offhanded…like it was nothing really, and she was being stupid being angry about it, but regrettably, some of his dread got into his voice.

"And you took the Doctor, Jack and Martha's Family- oh, Martha was the Doctor companion until about six months ago. Anyway, you took them prisoner?" Rose pressed on.

"Yes and yes," still more dread.

"And then the Doctor, Martha and Jack turned back time so that anybody who wasn't on the ship didn't remember anything at all?"

"Yes."

"And you and the Doctor have been travelling together ever since?" asked Rose, her tone indicating this was her last question.

He didn't even try to stop the trepidation in his voice this time, as he answered quietly, "Yes."

He cringed, waiting for the onslaught, but when it didn't come it only caused him get more anxious. He continued looking down at his chips, having convinced himself that she was too mad to talk and was just glaring at him…but was shocked when from the other side of the table, Rose clapped her hands together, and announced happily, "Right then, let's eat!"

He looked up and found Rose opening up her packet happily, not even a trace of hate, anger or even dislike in her eyes. "Wait a second…You're alright with all that?"

"Yep!" replied Rose, happily popping a chip into her mouth and sighing contently.

The Master however was gaping at her, and asked, "Why? I mean- all the Humans that know about it…Jack Harkness for example, all want me dead for it, why not you?"

Rose looked at him firmly, and answered, "Because you are also the same man who in the last six months, has rescued the Doctor eight times, saved the Aidemit race from the Chrotun Plague, saved the Human race from the Solarist…and- you were the one who thought of a way to get to my dimension, and even a way back so I can visit my family, when nobody else could. Yeah, it was difficult, and you probably won't hear this much…but in my books, you have redeemed yourself."

The Master gave her a look of utter shock, but he quickly covered it up by smirking and retorting, "Yeah, well I guess what _you _think of me is all that matters in the end."

Rose would have been insulted if she hadn't seem him quickly shut his eyes and drop his head so they couldn't see his face again. The Doctor gave her a grateful smile and quickly stole one of her chips. Rose grinned, and exclaimed playfully, "You cheeky little bugger, you've got your own packet."

The Doctor pouted, and moaned, "I haven't had chips in a year and a half…cut me some slack."

Rose laughed and said just a childishly, "I haven't had chips in a week, and for me, that's just as bad as a year."

The Master grinned mischievously and snatched a chip from both the Doctor and Roses packet, popping them into his mouth and shrugging, "Haven't _ever _had chips…guess I beat ya both."


	4. Chapter 4

**- Chapter Four - Swimming Lessons -**

"**Oh **come on just jump- what's the worst thing that can happen- it's can't be that terrible- well it bloody is now!" growled the Master angrily, glaring at the Doctor- who like him, was clinging to the freezing cold, slimy, orange buoy that was keep them all afloat.

"Just hold on," instructed the Doctor, readjusting his own grip.

"I'm trying," retorted the Master, panicking slightly as his right arm began to slip closer to the water. _Haven__'__t had to deal with this sort of thing for centuries__…__the one stinking regeneration that is scared of water and this happens._

The Doctor looked over at his ashen and stricken looking friend, and said irritably, "You should of told me you couldn't swim."

The Master snapped his head away from the water, and fixed the Doctor with an exasperated gaze of his own and responded, "You should of told me that we were going swimming."

"The place was blowing up!"

"We wouldn't have been locked inside it if it weren't for you insulting them!"

Rose sighed, and watched as her two friends regressed to childish bickering, the Doctor going so far as the splash the Master in the face, instigated and terrified squeak from the Masterm closely followed by a string of insults in impressively complex languages.

It was not translated, so Rose didn't know what he was saying, but the Doctor obviously did because he let out an incredulous sigh, and called out, "And here we go with the paranoia!"

"I am not paranoid!"

Rose looked out into the distance, and her heart skipped a beat in panic when she caught sight of something. "Guys."

But the two Timelords weren't listening, preferring to continue their own little argument.

"Oho really? Coos you are sounding incredibly paranoid right now!"

"Guys."

"If I am paranoid, it's your fau-"

"Guys!"

Both the Doctor and the Master spun around and looked at Rose, asking heatedly, "What?!"

Rose, pointed about a hundred metres out into the water, and the Master and Doctor turned around slowly, following her gaze and found a large group of their massive, former captors, coming after them.

The Master turned to the Doctor with a small_ here-we-go-again _like, grin on his face, and said, "Oh good."

All three of them let go of the buoy and headed for the land that was only fifty metres off. Rose was already a couple of metres there when she was stopped by a strangled yelp, and a voice calling, "Oi, a little help here please."

Rose turned around, and was an odd combination of horror and amusement washed over her as she saw both the Doctor and the Master struggling to keep above the water. She quickly swum over to the pair and rounded on the Doctor.

"I swear you could swim in your last regeneration!" she thundered.

The Doctor chuckled nervously, and replied, "Um- new body, personality…and abilities. D-did I forget to mention tha- Ow! Rose, the Master just kicked me!"

Rose looked over to where the Master was, ready to give him one of her most deadly glares, but yelped in surprise and panic when she found it empty of said Timelord. Quickly she dove under, and dragged up a terrified, spluttering Master.

The guards were getting closer, and a thought struck Rose. "Hey, do you reckon that they would take us to land?"

Without missing a beat, the Doctor replied optimistically, "Well…being that they blew up the building while we were still in it, I would guess that they don't really want us alive so I would say- oooh- drown us? Um, yep, drown us."

Rose rolled her eyes and retorted, "Oh, you're just full of good news today aren't you Mr I-just-worked-out-I-can't-swim…Look, will you stop sinking!"

"I'm not drowning on purpose," defended the Master meekly, fear of the water overriding his pride, as he clung tightly onto Rose's hand.

"Alright, the two of you! I need you to kick your legs so that you move forward, use your arms to push the water down so that you keep your head above it, and if you do go under, hold your breath and I will come and get you alright?"

The Doctor and the Master, both thoroughly frightened, nodded obediently, and followed Rose's instructions. After a lot of spluttering, and a bit more drowning from both Timelords, they made it to the muddy bank.

All of them flopped down onto the foul smelling sludge, and tried to even out their breathing. After about half a minute, the Master announced miserably, "I hate this planet. There's too much water, the dirt smells funny- and the natives get offended by the length of your hair."

"That is a little weird isn't it," sighed the Doctor, self-consciously running a hand through his messy brown hair. But then he remembered something that made his stomach drop. "Talking about the guards…um- where are they?"

Rose and the Masters eyes snapped open, and all three of them yelped when they saw the massive, reptilian guards, pulling their massive bulk out of the water, and racing over to the three of them.

Slipping in the mud a little, all of them got up and sprinted in the general direction of the TARDIS, which should have been around half a kilometre away. Five hundred metres wasn't usually that far for them, but when their legs were still shaky and out of breath from the swim, and their chasers had the leg span of two metres, it suddenly became a lot more difficult.

The guards were thundering behind them, they could hear there growling and hissing…bloodthirsty teeth ready for the kill. The Doctor cursed himself for choosing to come to a planet solely populated by walking, carnivorous lizards. All of them turned and saw the TARDIS a couple hundred metres off to the left, so they skidded to a halt and quickly took off in that direction.

**--Doctor Who--**

The Master was exhausted. He had drowned four times in the last five minutes, and now- running through sticky mud that came halfway up his calf's and seemed reluctant to let go. Rose nudged him and the Doctor, pointing over to the tall blue box that was the TARDIS, standing about thirty metres in the distance.

But the guard were getting closer. He and the Doctor both grabbed Roses hands and ran faster. The three of them sped through the brown, smelly slush, but the guards were getting closer.

The Master could hear their heavy snarling breathing, and the splash of their feet sinking into the muck. He quickly looked over to the Doctor, asking silently if it was time for plan B. The Doctor nodded, and let go of Rose's hand, urging her to run as fast as she could.

**--Doctor Who--**

"Rose, whatever happens, don't stop running. Get to the TARDIS, and if we're not coming- lock yourself in!" urged the Doctor, quickly giving her hand a squeeze.

Rose opened her mouth to answer, and tell him that she wasn't going to do that, but when the Doctor gave her a pleading look, she nodded…squeezing his hand back.

She turned and looked at the Master, who had a look of determination on his face. They both let go of her hand, and the Doctor handed something over to the Master…before both of them fell back and Rose sped up even more. The TARDIS was getting closer, but so were the guards.

**--Doctor Who--**

The Doctor shot the Master an exhilarated grin, which he returned, and then they both slowed down. The guards were getting closer and closer, jaws snapping and snarling. They reached out and almost grabbed a hold of the Doctor muddied brown coat when- THUD!

He spun around to see all ten of the guards tangled together, and the Master hurriedly getting up from the fray…running over to him and laughing. They both sped off.

The TARDIS got closer, and they sped through the blue, wooden doors that Rose threw open for them. She quickly shut it behind them and locked it as the two Timelords set co-ordinates, and after one of her roughest rides ever- the old girl found herself once again floating in the void.

"Handy thing that," announced the Master, handing over one of the Doctor's TARDIS keys, which was attached to a string.

"I know," grinned the Doctor. He turned to find Rose looking rather bewildered, and elaborated, "Perception Filter- never leave home without one."

Rose shook her head, and sat down on the captains chair. "So, did you find what you want, or do you wanna go back and see if we can be shot at as well?"

The Master sniggered at this, pulling off his soaked and muddied jacket, and attempting to rub some of the mud off of it.  
The Doctor crossed his arms defensively over his chest, and answered moodily, "Yes, I found what I wanted."

Rose and the Master exchanged exasperated glances, and asked in unison, "And that was…?"

A manic grin spread itself over the Doctor's face, as he announced triumphantly, "We have to go back to Earth."

Only when he looked over to his two companions, did he notice their incredulous stares, which confused him.

"What?"

The Master was first to answer, his tone lax and uncaring as always, "You dragged us halfway across the universe, _from Earth…_just so you could decide that we should go back?"

The Doctor thought the question over several times in his head, be saying in a clear and slow voice so both Rose and the Master would definitely understand, "Yyyyeeesss."

He yelped in surprise when he caught sight of the two murderous glares that were being sent his direction, and almost tripped over his own feet when Rose stormed over to him, yelling, "We almost got blown up, drowned and ripped to pieces in the last half hour."

"And-" added the Master, obviously enjoying the Doctor's predicament, "I got stepped on three times by those overgrown lizards."

"But it was important," squeaked the Doctor, positively cringing away from Rose, who looked sorely tempted to follow in her mothers footsteps when it came to _Doctor beating._

"What was so important then?!"

"The Archangel satellites," answered the Doctor, looking over to the Master, whose face had drained completely of colour.

"What about them," he asked, his voice far more throaty than it had been before.

"They're back on line," answered the Doctor, still eyeing Rose nervously, who was looking very confused at the exchange.

"Wait, what?"

"The satellite system that the Master set up. It's been put back into operation, and they have the telepathic power to put the entire Human race into a hypnotic state."

Rose raised and eyebrow, and both she and the Doctor turned to the Master, who was looking pretty nervous.  
"I swear…I had nothing to do with this," he stumbled, his voice still very hoarse.

The Doctor broke into a small grin, saying simply, "I know." When the Master looked unconvinced, the Doctor turned serious again, and asked, "Do you honestly think you would still be out here if I thought you were up to something."

The Master gave a small shake of his head, and tried to relax a little, a small smirk gracing his features when he heard Rose say lightly, "That's a little kinky don't you think?"

"So what were we doing back there then?" asked the Master.

"Well," began the Doctor, taking a deep breath, simultaneously warning both Rose and the Master that the rest of the speech was going to be very long and very quick. "For some reason, god only knows what…there is only one other place in the universe that that signal could be being transmitted from, and that place is right here, Lacerta, or Liv 6- Sol 3's sister planet if you will. So, I ran a little check, only took a couple of minutes cos I'm brilliant, and what-do-ya-know, the signals aren't coming from here."

The Master and Rose both exchanged another bemused glance, before Rose said slowly, "So it's originating from Earth."

"Which means somewhere on Earth, a Human is walking around with-"

"The potential power to put the entire population into a hypnotic state," concluded the Doctor, already working on the co-ordinates for Earth.

"Can you pinpoint it now?" asked Rose, jumping onto the captain's seat beside the console, as the Master gripped the railing beside her.

With a final flick of a switch, the Doctor jumped next to Rose, and replied over the loud droning and grinding of the TARDIS engine, "No, I need a place that is more powerful and based on Earth, and unfortunately, the old girl can't help us this time."

As the droning dulled down, the Master sighed, "I suppose the name Harkness is going to pop up right about now."

"_Jack! There's another bloody police box!"_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five - We Have Our Heading -**

**It** was once again midday in Cardiff- when Captain Jack Harkness was brought out of yet another load of paperwork for UNIT, by the loud droning emanating from the middle of the hub, and Owen's yelling that 'another bloody police teleported into their base'.

Jack raced down the stairs of his office as fast as he could, and the moment he set foot on the floor of the hub- the blue police boxes' door swung open to reveal a slightly muddied Rose Tyler, but a grinning and overjoyed Rose none the less.

She ran over to him and flung her arms around his neck, crying out happily, Jack doing the same. Jack picked her up and spun her around once, before setting the young, cockney girl down onto the ground- and smiling happily down at her.

"I missed you so much Rose," he said quietly.

"I did too," whispered Rose, hugging her friend again…"I missed my annoyingly big brother-like buddy."

Jack laughed and muttered, "Yeah." After making a big show of counting his fingers, he smiled and announced- "I haven't seen you in a hundred and thirty nine years Rose Tyler."

Rose grinned and replied cheekily, "Yeah? Well I 'aven't seen you in thirty-nine planets and fourteen systems…and on one notable adventure- a black hole.'

Jack grimaced, and muttered childishly, "Show off."

Rose laughed, and Jack looked at the door suspiciously, "Where's the Doctor…and the Master?"

Rose rolled her eyes, and replied, "They're inside getting changed because their suits haven't dried from their little drowning-fest…oh and the Master is all muddy from when he got trampled into the ground when he tripped over the guards."

Jack smirked at the Master's misfortune, and asked, "So how has he been to you…the Master?"

Rose broke out into a grin and replied, "Oh he's heaps of fun…last week we went to New Earth, and we went to this nightclub, and Jack, him and the Doctor started dancing around and- Well it was really fun."

"I thought so," announced the Master from the door of the TARDIS, walking out and running a hand through his damp hair, making it stand up on end…Rose laughed when the Doctor followed him out, doing the exact same.

Jack rose an eyebrow slightly, and said in a mock conversational voice, "I heard you almost drowned Master."

The Master smirked, and replied in the same mock casual voice, "I heard you are a git Captain…don't worry- I'll get over it."

Jack rolled his eyes, and looked at the Doctor asking- "What do you two want?"

The Doctor scratched the back of his head awkwardly, and thought of the best way to put their predicament. "Well- we just need to run a little scan- nothing major, just a little satellite scan."

Jack gave the Doctor and incredulous look, and asked, "How dumb do you think I am?"

Everyone turned when the Master coughed and muttered loud enough for them all to hear- "Is that a trick question?"

Jack growled and went to take a step towards the Master, when the Doctor jumped in front of him. "Come on Jack, this is important. Somebody has got control of the Archangel satellites- and before you say, I know it's not the Master."

"And how do you know that exactly?" demanded Jack, giving the Master a suspicious glare.

The Master rolled up the sleeve to his right arm, and showed the team at large, a small scar on his forearm, "Psychic inhibitor, waters down psychic energy to an almost non-existent state."

Jack looked rather shocked, and turned to the Doctor- "You put a psychic inhibitor in his arm? That's a little cruel don't you think."

The Master rose an eyebrow, and replied somewhat stunned, "What do you care if I like it or not…any way, the Doctor didn't do it- I did. To make sure I didn't tap into the Satellites or hypnotise someone unconsciously. Quiets down the drumming too."

Jack nodded, somewhat more subdued, and turned to the Doctor and Rose, who were sharing a surprised glance at how their two- usually waring friends were acting towards one another. "Right- I'll, um…show you to the computers…Tosh-"

**--Doctor Who--**

Tosh sat next to the Doctor as sped through the system- trying to find the program and rattling off tips on how to improve the programming…tips Tosh planned on following up right away.

'_Yep, this Doctor guy isn__'__t that bad.__'_

"So you can understand any language?" she asked with interest.

Not looking up from the screen, the Doctor replied animatedly- "Yep- Well, pretty much any language…definitely every language on Earth, and the TARDIS can translate it for everyone else."

"Really?"

"Try me."

"Alright then. Vorrei, come è stato bene con la tecnologia come stai" (Any Italians who may be reading- I'm sorry, I had to use a translator.)

"Oh- Italian! Very nice. And for a Human, you are very good with technology," replied the Doctor, tapping enter on the key board dramatically, and sitting back in the seat, folding his arms over his chest and concentrating on the text flashing across the screen.

"How come that's not translated?" asked Tosh, watching the rapidly changing circles with interest.

"Oh, the TARDIS is very patriotic…prefers not to translate for anybody who can't read Galleyfrillian text naturally."

"You can?"

"I'm Galleyfrillian…so's the Master."

Tosh turned around in surprise, and the Master raised a hand and said happily, "Hello!"

"That's interesting," muttered Tosh.

Rose walked up next to her and replied, "Isn't it."

The Doctor stood up, and announced happily, "We have our heading."

"Too much Pirates of the Caribbean for you," retorted Rose happily.

"You can never get to much Captain Jack," announced the Doctor, just as happily.

Jack smirked and replied, "I'll say."

"Like I said…the only man that you would ever be happy with," muttered the Doctor, causing the Master and Owen to start sniggering.

Rose rolled her eyes, and walked over to Tosh, Gwen and Ianto, saying irritably- "They all have the worst attention span in history."

She clapped her hands together, and called, "Guys- guys! Said heading please."

The Doctor spun around, and said quickly, "London."

"Right,. are we going there?" asked Rose, in very much the same manor one would ask a child if they were going to pick up the phone they were standing next to.

The Doctor played his part perfectly, shifting slightly and mumbling, "In a minute."

Rose rolled her eyes, said goodbye to Gwen, Ianto and Tosh, marched over to the Doctor and Master…grabbed an ear each and pulled them back to the TARDIS, "No- not in a minute…right now."

Jack could here the Doctor whining from inside the TARDIS, "One week with you mother- and you turn into her…no-no don't do **(SLAP!) **Ow!"

Jack laughed out loud as he heard another slap and the Master cry out.


	6. Chapter 6

**- Chapter Six - The Drums -**

**The** TARDIS was in the floating through the void once more, absorbing energy to make up for the Doctor's trip to Lacerta and back, and feeling rather irritated with said Timelord, for he was messing up all of her storage rooms looking for something that was stuffed underneath his bed.

She had told the Master to tell him that…she had even tried to get through to Rose…but the Doctor wasn't listening to any of them.

The ancient Time and Space machine, sent another message to the Master, who was at current time, loitering around in the control room, sitting upside down on the jump seat with Rose for some reason, yelling for the Doctor to stop being so stubborn, and look under his bed.

"Why, in the name of Rassilion would it be under there?" called back the Doctor from inside another storage closet.

The Master and Rose sighed in unison, and flopped back against the seat.

"I'm seeing red," commented Rose, as another loud crashing could be heard from down the hall.

The Master quickly put a hand to his head, wincing, before replying, "That's just the Doctor. I suggest taking a couple deep breaths."

Rose laughed, and spun around on the chair, sitting upright, and wobbling slightly as the blood flowed back through her body. "No…I think it was the sitting upside down. Don't you see it?"

"What? Red tinged vision?" asked the Master, tapping absentmindedly on side on the chair, a familiar four beat sequence.

"Yeah that," laughed Rose, watching his fingers with interest.

"Oh, I saw red about three minutes ago…now these lovely black dots keep popping up every," replied the Master, twisting himself around, and siting next to Rose. "Ow, the more hearts, the faster the blood flow."

Rose giggled, and placed a steadying hand on his shoulder as the Masted began to lean heavily to one side. "What's that tapping you're always doing?" she asked, natural curiosity clear in her voice.

"What tapping?" asked the Master.

"That tapping," grinned Rose, punching him in the arm, and pointing to his right hand.

"Oh, that's just the drumming. I can't hear it as much now, but it's still there…and it won't ever go away I don't think," sighed the Master, tipping his head back so that it rested on the back of the chair, and he was staring at the ceiling of the TARDIS.

But what Rose said next made him snap his gaze back in her direction. "That must be terrible, to have to listen to it every waking hour. I heard something like that for a while."

"When?"

Rose looked down at her feet, slightly embarrassed, and replied, "It wasn't very long, but it was very loud, and in that rhythm," she added, indicating to the Masters now still hand. "It was when I looked into the TARDIS, and I absorbed the energy from the Time Vortex…and my head was really hurting…and there was this drumming."

The Master was looking at her wide eyed, and said, "So you heard the drumming? you looked into the heart of the TARIDS and you heard the drumming…no way! I've never met anybody else who has heard it…they all thought I was just making it up, or imagining it."

Rose smiled, and asked, "When did you start hearing it?"

The Master flopped back to looking at the ceiling again. "I was- eight. And the Timelords have this- _tradition_, that they send kids up to the Untempered Schism…which is an opening that you can look out into the whole of Time and Space…and it was beautiful, and terrifying, and… they should have waited until we were older," he said angrily, letting out a sigh.

"Too late now, but the drums chose me, and they've been my companion ever since."

Rose was listening intently, when a question hit her. "Do you miss it…the drumming? Do you feel lonely without being able to hear it as much?"

The Master brushed off the question by jumping up and replying, "It doesn't matter. I'm alright, always am…now let's go break into the Doctor's bedroom and get that machine."

Rose grinned, and followed the Master as he jogged down the hall, wondering if all Timelords were like this or just the ones she knew.

**--Doctor Who--**

The Doctor shuffled down the hall to his bedroom, feeling very much like an admonished child, after the TARDIS's onslaught.

"I didn't mean to," he mumbled, looking down at the floor as the TARDIS continued telling him off for messing up her storage closets.

He pushed open the door, just in time for a red toy car to fly over his shoulder…closely followed by a familiar voice yelling, "What in the name of Rassilion, is that doing under there?"

"I'm modifying it," answered the Doctor, grabbing the Masters legs, and tugging him out from under the bed, resulting in a satisfying yelp. When the Master slid out completely, he was holding the Doctors Timey-Wimey Detector, and glaring at said Timelord.

"I've got a carpet burn all up my back now. I hope you're happy."

"What are you doing in my bedroom?" asked the Doctor, rolling his eyes as the Master flopped onto his bed, triggering a panicked squeak from Rose, who rolled out from under the small structure, and glared at the horizontal Timelord.

"We're getting your little chicken popper," retorted the Master, rubbing his back.

The Doctor went slightly red as the TARDIS openly reprimanded him, allowing Rose and the Master hear her assault.

Rose was feeling sorry for the Doctor, who looked, embarrassed, hurt and downtrodden, all at once. The Master was sniggering, but chose not to say anything. It was like your Mum getting mad at you in front of friends, concluded the Doctor, taking out his sonic screwdriver, and stumbling to find something else to talk about.

Rose provided him with such a topic, by asking, "What do you need with that anyway?"

"There's a few modified chips in here, that can locate abnormalities of the atmosphere, as I program it…so we put them into our little tracking devices, then we will be able to trail the different areas the signals are originating. And if this person knows anything…and it appears that they do, than there will be a few dead ends."

Rose nodded, and sat down on the bed, watching the Doctor set to work on the odd looking device.

**-- Doctor Who --**

It had taken about an hour and a half, for the Doctor to dismantle the Time-Wimey detector, and reprogram the chips, to track down the right frequency…otherwise they would be spending the month, chasing after every radio station, Satellite television and mobile phone carrier, in London…if they were lucky.

But at long last he had finished, and relatively unharmed. Sucking one of his burnt fingertips, he spun around to find Rose, sitting in an armchair, sipping from a cup of tea and reading one of her magazines, and the Master fast asleep on the bed.

Rose looked up from her magazine, having seen him stand up through the corner of her eye…and then looked at the Master's snoozing form, commenting, "I thought Timelords didn't need sleep."

The Doctor shrugged, and replied, "He spent a good, sixty-four years as a Human, you can't go that long without picking up some of the characteristics."

Rose shrugged, but quickly stepped away from the bed, once she saw the mischievous glint in the Doctor's eyes. Just in time as well, because seconds later, the Doctor had jumped onto of the Master, laughing, as the formerly peaceful Timelord, let out a startled yelp, and tried to wrestle him off.

"You two are as bad as Shareen's brothers," laughed Rose, as the two of them fell off of the bed, the Doctor laughing, and the Master yelling threat involving a lot of violence on his half.

The small scuffle came to a finish, the Doctor pinning the Master down, and laughing, "Hmmm- déjà vu. Although, I distinctly remember , last time you were threatening to blow us both up"

Rolling his eyes, the Master stood up, brushing himself off, and desperately trying to get rid of the pink tinge that had spread across his cheeks, over the Doctor overpowering him. "So, have you got those tracker things ready yet?"

"Yeah I have, but we are going to need more than just the three of us," announced the Doctor.

Rose grinned, and suggested, "Mickey would help…not to sure about Mum."

"Neither am I," muttered the Master, flinching slightly at Rose's glare, and retorting defensively, "If I didn't say it, he would have."

Feeling that he was in hot water, the Doctor continued, "Anyway, that's four people, we need at least six."

The Master moaned, looking up at the ceiling, and muttering, "This is going to end so badly."

"We can ask Martha," suggested the Doctor, looking at Rose slightly hesitantly, remembering quite well the Sarah-Jane-Ordeal.

"Alright…and Jack," suggested Rose, seemingly fine with Martha's presence.

"Oh this is going to be so much fun," grumbled the Master, flopping down in the arm chair, and trying to ignore the Doctor's and Rose's sniggering.


	7. Chapter 7

**- Chapter Seven -**

**- If Your Advance is Going Well, You've Walked Into an Ambush -**

**The** TARDIS had not been this full in quite a while. The control room was abuzz with activity, with people running from one side of the room to the other. Nearby the control panel, Jack and the Doctor were arguing about how to best put the trackers together, while on the other side of the busy round panel, Rose and Martha were getting to know each other, which as always involved laughing at some of the Doctor's many odd habits and quickly getting over their initial dislike of one another.

And leaning moodily against one of the massive coral pillars, and both feeling completely out of place, the Master and Mickey Smith stood, watching the proceedings.

"Why are you here?" asked the Master, rolling his head onto his left shoulder so he could see Mickey, who grunted, "It's a free universe."

Laughing, the Master nodded, before retorting, "Not if I had my way."

Mickey laughed also, before sighing and returning his gaze to the girls on the other side of the room.  
The Master rose and eyebrow, and said, "Just go and compliment her…or whatever you Earth lot do."

"She's with the Doctor," countered Mickey automatically.

The Master however smirked, cocking his head to the side and asking, "What ever gave you the idea I was talking about Miss Tyler?"

It only took an impressive three seconds for this to sink in, before Mickey spun around, and looked at the Master in horror, causing the Timelord to start laughing. "You read my mind!"

"Not as much read as listened to it…you were practically broadcasting it. Lucky Martha Jones isn't the slightest bit psychic or that would be a little awkward…pity really."

Mickey hesitantly leaned back against the pillar, and watched as the Master stuck out his foot in front of Jack, who to both their disappointment, jumped over it.

"Stop making me feel we're at some school dance and go and hit on her or something," snapped the Master, picking out a red jelly-baby from his pocket. Mickey looked hesitantly at him, before walking over to the two girls, introducing himself to Martha, who seemed rather taken.

After about five minutes, the room began to shake wildly, and more than a few admonishing shouts were sent in the Doctor and Jack's direction. Once it had calmed, the Doctor jumped up, and began to hand out the tracking devices to everybody. They looked almost identical to Jacks _Vortex Manipulator_, except, there was a little light on the side.

The Master put his on hesitantly, half expecting it to burst up in flames the minute it turned…but knowing the Doctor, that was a rather reasonable line of thought.

Clapping his hands together, the Doctor called, "Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could have your attention. Now, if you will please do as follows. Get that little chip that I gave you all before…yes Mickey, that one."

"Don't talk to me like a child," protested Mickey heatedly.

The Doctor grinned, before saying, "Moving on…take that chip, and slip it into that little slot thing there…yeah, there…wait, no- gently!"

After a couple of minutes, all of the chips were in place, and the Doctor continued, "Right, when I drop you off, you need to press these three buttons, to start the tracking sequence."

"Why can' we push 'em now?"

"Because Mickey the Idiot-"

"Oi!"

"It will only track abnormalities in the surrounding area of its activation mark."

"Now, we have- What now?"

The Master smirked slightly, and said, "When you say you're going to drop us off…you mean we're going to go it alone?"

"Why, so you can go after some other family to torture?" spat Martha, glaring at the Master loathingly. Her anger doubled however, when the Master grinned, and said, "Why would I do that- _your _family is just so _tortureble_."

"That's not even a word," commented Jack, leaning against the console.

"I made it up, it's my right," replied the Master, before turning to the Doctor, who was giving him a bemused look that said quite clearly, _Are you trying to take on the whole room?_

Shrugging, he asked, "Yes or no?"

"Yes _and _no," answered the Doctor, personally looking forward to what was coming up.

"What do you mean yes and no-"

"Mickey's with Martha, Rose is with me. That leaves-"

"No! no, no, no, no, no- you can't do that, that's not fair!" cried the Master, sharing a half loathing, half panicked glance with Jack, who was also protesting. However, before either of them could do anything about it, the door swung open, both the Doctor and Mickey shoved them out of it, and the Doctor said quickly, "Here's ten Pounds- have fun- play nice- don't get arrested, and don't get lost…come back here in seven hours, and we'll pick you up."

Before either of them could do anything else, the Doctor slammed the door shut and the TARDIS began to dematerialise in front of them. Once it was completely gone, Jack glared at the Master, and grumbled, "Just follow my lead, and we might get through this."

The Master bristled indignantly, and asked, "What makes you think you can boss me around?"

"What are you going to do about it?" countered Jack, stepping closer to the Master, and continuing, "No, guards to protect you, or Doctor to defend you…no laser-screwdriver. Your not in a very good position at the moment."

Shoving past the tall American, the Master pressed down on the three buttons that the Doctor showed them, before walking out of the Alley, calling over his shoulder, "That may be so…but I think you will find that in the big picture, **money **is what really matters. I'll feel free to spend you half on some Jelly-babies or a CD, something along that line of thought."

Grumbling, Jack pressed down on the buttons also, and followed the Master out, and into the busy street.

**--Doctor Who--**

__**½ **_**Hour Later**_

"We're supposed to be trying to save the world," laughed Rose, as she followed the Doctor down a street, holding his hand and trying to stop her teeth from chattering in the cold.

"Agh- we can do that later…but in the mean time, how often do we get to spend time together?" asked the Doctor, turning down another road, and rubbing Rose's hand, trying to make it warmer for her.

Laughing, Rose replied, "All the time."

"I mean just you and me, Don't wind me up Rose Tyler, you're spending to much time with the Master," said the Doctor, before leaning over, and putting a hand over Rose's eyes.

"You may not have noticed…but I can't see when you do that," commented Rose, as she let the Doctor guide her by the hand down the rest of the road.

"That's the point, alright…here we are, you can open your eyes."

Rose did so, and squeaked happily when she saw that they were standing out front of a homely café, called the 'Latte Way'. She turned to the Doctor, who was looking at her hesitantly, rambling, "It's cheesy know, but you dragged the old me here, and you seemed to have enjoyed it. And I've never been much of a picnic person, and the others would probably find us, and I would never hear the end of it, and…am I rambling?"

"Yeah, but it's great Doctor," grinned Rose, taking hold of the Doctor hand again, before walking into the café.

They both ordered regular Hot Chocolates, having only just had tea inside the TARDIS and feeling chilled to the bone from the weather outside. Rose looked around as the Doctor handed over the money for their drinks.

The inside was a large open room, that smelled like a blend of chocolate and coffee, and painted in warm browns, that reminded Rose of the Doctors eyes.. It was warm, and felt extremely homey.

Rose was brought out of her thoughts, when the Doctor took her hand again, and said, "Right then, let's sit down."

There were only about a dozen people in the café at the time, mostly couples, then there were a few middle-aged women surrounded by shopping bags…and a young businessman looking dreamily at the cashier…with four empty cups sitting on his table, and getting up to buy another, looking distinctly like a man trying to work up some courage.

Rose sat down opposite the Doctor, at one of the tables at the back, and looked over to find him smiling at her. "What? I haven't got something on my face have I?"

"No," laughed the Doctor, leaning back, but beaming none the less. "I just really missed this, just going out and being with you…I missed you so badly."

Rose placed her hand over his, and smiled comfortingly at him, saying, "Well I'm here now…and I have no plan of going anywhere."

The Doctor nodded , looking worried none the less, so Rose said, "Now I've got two big bad Timelords keeping me out of trouble…I think I'm double as safe."

The Doctor laughed, and nodded again this time much more convinced than before. However, before he could respond further, they heard the chiming of the bell at the door, and turned to see the newcomers. Rose yelped in surprise, and ducked under the table, the Doctor gulped, and muttered, "Oh not good," before getting pulled under also.

Peeking through a fold of the tablecloth, Rose whispered anxiously, "What the hell are they doing here? They should be at the other side of town."

The Doctor chuckled nervously, and said, "Well, actually…we're in their search area, Jack and the Master are at the other side of London."

"Oh brilliant."

The two of them, watched as Martha and Mickey sat down at the table opposite them, and sighed in frustration. "There are many things about this that is not good," muttered the Doctor, leaning against the bottom of the lounge surrounding their table.

They remained hidden for around a total of three minutes, until the waitress walked up to their table, and having seen them ducking underneath…pulled up the cloth a little, and said, "For health and safety reasons- you are supposed to be sitting _at _a table- not underneath it."

Both Martha and Mickey spun around in surprise, when they heard a familiar voice reply, "Or is it because you don't want people knowing that you've got seven pieces of chewing gum stuck under here?"

"Get out from under the table sir," sighed the waitress, walking away, to reveal a rather embarrassed looking Doctor and Rose slowly sitting back on the lounge.

"What are you two doing here?" asked Mickey, getting up, and walking over to the sheepish Timelord and Human.

"Um- checking the building for satellite signals," attempted the Doctor, tapping the wood behind the couch, and announcing happily, "Nope, all clear."

"You're supposed to be out looking for alien mind control signals mister," reprimanded Martha, grinning none the less and sliding next to Rose, who was timidly sipping her Hot Chocolate.

"I- we were…hang on, what are you two doing here then?" demanded the Doctor, looking at Mickey accusingly.

"Well, we have been searching… and thought we would take a break," stumbled Mickey in reply, trying not to make eye contact with the Timelord.

"You trackers not even activated."

"Is too."

"The lights not flashing."

"Um- so what."

"So it hasn't been turned on."

Martha and Rose were laughing at them, but then Martha asked, "So you mean that none of us are out looking for the signals?"

"Jack and the Master are still out there."

Rose grinned, and commented into her mug, "They're probably under arrest for being violent in a public area or something."

Tilting his head in agreement, the Doctor sighed, downed the Hot Chocolate, and got up from the table, "Alright. Let's get to work, Mickey, move over so I can get out."

**--Doctor Who--**

__**3**_** hours later- at the other side of London**_

"We're in a dark, filthy, wet alley, in the middle of an ape city, looking for a device that I should want turned on…so that we can destroy it, tell me what's wrong with this picture," sighed the Master, as he and Jack crept through one of the cracks between two massive apartment buildings.

"Would you stop complaining for once, you're the one who refuses to get any lunch, if anyone should be upset, it's me," grumbled Jack, quickly dodging a pile of what looked like dog droppings…smelt like it too.

The Master grinned, and was about to come back with a fantastic punch line, but then the atmosphere changed, he stopped dead…ignoring Jacks curses as he walked straight into him. It was like electricity, coursing through the alley, there was a scent of danger here so strong, that the Timelord cold almost taste it.

Jack was starting to get nervous, he had called the Master everything from a Twat to a Compulsive Failure…and he wasn't reacting.

"Captain-" the Master began, his tone slow and quiet. "I think we should-" But he stopped mid-sentence, him and Jack both holding there breaths, trying to determine whether or not the sound of a knocked can of drink came from inside the alley, or from the street.

They were about to dismiss it, when, they saw a shadow of a person on the wall of the alley, reeping towards them.

"Run!!"

Jack spun around to run out of the alley, only to find two hulking men, standing in front of the exit. He turned when he heard the sound of a body collapse to the ground behind him, and jumped back in surprise when he looked down to find the Master unconscious, a barely visible trail of blood sliding down his temple.

A rough pair of hands grabbed his arms, and pushed him against the hard, brick wall of the right building.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" demanded Jack, struggling to get free of the hands.

"That lady said she only wanted this one…no witness's," a gruff voice stated, sounding to Jack, that it was coming from where the Master was lying.

"What do we do with him then?" asked another…this coming from the man who was holding Jacks arms twisted behind his back, and sounding distinctly more oily than the first.

Deciding that he might as well have a go, Jack commented, "You leave him be is what you do to him."

He was spun around by the man holding him, only to be back-handed by the third, and be told to shut up.

"Boss?"

"Just kill him Tony," sighed the gruff voiced man, who Jack had decided to dub Moe.

"There is no need for that," announced Jack, in a reasoning voice, receiving another slap from the Tony guy, who was taking out his gun. "At least tell me why you want _him _before you kill me."

Jack was thrown to the ground, where he rolled over, and saw that the three beefy men were all smirking at him. The biggest of them, Moe, like Jack had suspected, was standing over the Master, who was still lying unconscious.

"Alright then- we want him, because if we take him to our boss we get paid. Happy?" answered Moe, his voice sneering and condescending.

"What you mean, you're not just mugging us or something?" asked Jack, choosing to play the dumb card and get as much information as possible, play to their ego…make them feel big and superior. It was obviously working because they all burst out laughing, and the oily man, wheezed, "Kiddo, you're not a smart as you look."

"What you mean?"

"You were tracking a satellite signal," stated Moe, looking at Jack down the bridge of his massive, crooked nose.

"Yeah, how did you know."

"Our boss is the one who put it out there, and you two just walked right into an ambush," laughed Moe, the greasy guy laughing, "Like lambs to the slaughterhouse."

"So you are working for the person who has control over the satellites?" asked Jack, excitement clear in his voice…which seemed to ring alarm bells for the thugs, because Tony cocked the gun, now scowling, and sneered before he pulled the trigger, _"__None of your business.__'_


	8. Chapter 8

**- Chapter Eight - Memory Lane -**

**Jack**, lay dead on the hard, dirty concrete of the alleyway he and the Master had been trekking through moments earlier, his body hidden by a dirty blue dumpster.

He was surrounded by the suffocating darkness, unable to move, breathe…anything. The fear that always came with his deaths was present…eating away at his insides, taunting how it wasn't going to work this time…this time he was stuck dead, **permanently**.

He tried to move, but his body felt like he had a truck parked on top of him, he couldn't even raise a finger.

Soon panic that the sneering voice inside his head was right, had begun to set in…making him feel sick…but then, a very familiar series of events began to play out.

First there was pinpricks of light that began to shine through the darkness, making it relinquish its hold on his mind and soul…then the agonising pain of the bullet wounds in his chest arrived, making him feel as if his nervous system was on fire. The pain increased, as the torn and bruising skin, pulled itself back together.

His limbs were feeling lighter, and his body was beginning to scream for something…it took Jack a couple of seconds to remember to breathe again, and with a massive gasp…Captain Jack Harkness came back to life…_again_.

The first thing that he realised, was that he was feeling unusually sick, and the world was spinning as he sat up. He found the reason for that, as he looked down at his body to see why he felt so sticky…to find that his formerly shirt was dark with sticky, drying blood, and he was sitting in a pool of the crimson bodily fluid.

"Blood loss, fantastic. Should take me at least an hour heal completely now," sighed Jack, dragging his sluggish body from behind the bin, to see if there was any trace of the Master left, grumbling as he did, "I was dead the first shot…but no, let's shoot him again."

He reached the spot where the Master had fallen, but found nothing left behind by either him or the attackers.

Groaning out loud, Jack rolled onto his back, trying to catch his breath, and pulling out his mobile from a pocket in his coat.

**--Doctor Who--**

Meanwhile, walking through a park on the other side of town, the Doctor and Rose were holding each others hand, trying to keep warm, as the biting cold wind, whipped at their exposed skin.

"Why couln' we choose a nice warm day or summin?" asked Rose, shivering as the cold continued to effectively seep through her jacket.

The Doctor smiled, taking off his brown trench coat, and draping it over her shoulders, replying softly, "Sorry."

" 's'okay," laughed Rose, as the Doctor, somewhat hesitantly, put an arm around her shoulders. Deciding to reassure him, Rose leaned into the embrace, and sighed contently, "Mmmm, much better, thankyou."

The Doctor smiled, and they continued to follow the trackers, as they tried to hunt down yet another signal origin…this being their third.

"This person is sure going to a lot of effort to keep us from finding them," commented the Doctor, stepping over a low chain fence.

Rose was about to respond, when she was interrupted by the sound of steadily growing music, emitting from her pocket.

_**Run into the peacecamp back  
Run along with Captain Jack  
Badadadideido, left right, right left  
Badadadideido, run along with Captain Jack  
**_

_**Forward march!**_

Ejo Captain Jack  
Bring me back to the railroad track 

The Doctor rose an eyebrow, and gave his companion an amused glance…which went unnoticed by said companion, as she slid her hand into her jeans pocket, and pulled out her modified mobile, muttering while she did, "Why would Jack be calling."

She pressed down on the answer button, and held the small device to her ear, saying, "Heya Jack, is there something wrong?"

"Rose, is the Doctor with you?" asked Jack, who to Rose's hearing, sounded different to his normal self…mainly because there didn't appear to be any undertone of flirting in his tone. ..something was definitely wrong.

"Yeah Jack, his righ' here. Are you okay?" asked Rose, in a concerned voice.

"Yeah Rosie…I'm completely fine, can I talk to the Doctor?" answered Jack not sounding fine at all.

Rose nodded, even though Jack couldn't see it, and handed the phone over to the Doctor, his face a mix of curiosity and amusement. "Jack."

"Doctor, listen-" started Jack, only to be cut off by the Doctors exasperated sigh, which hit the Captain's ego pretty badly, and instigating a defensive, "What?!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes, cursing ever having put the Master and Jack in a team together, and said, "Jack, if the next words out of your mouth are, there was a tinsy, tiny, little, itty bitty, major altercation…but he completely deserved it, then you just lost me ten pounds."

There was a stunned silence, that lasted about ten seconds, before Jack huffed angrily, and grumbled, "I can't believe you were betting on whether we would get arrested or not."

"Hey, I bet you wouldn't, look how far that's got me," retorted the Doctor.

He was cut off however, by Jack, who said urgently, "Doctor, listen to me, we weren't arrested…this is serious!"

The smirk that had settled on the Doctor's features instantly slid off. 'Jack was never serious unless something was really wrong…even then he jokes around.'

The Doctor asked with just as much urgency, "Jack, what's wrong? What's happened?"

Jack wasted no time, and told the Doctor everything that had happened, how the Master got knocked out when they turned to run, and how the guards had said that they only wanted him.

Rose watched as he went paler with every word that Jack said, still oblivious to what that was exactly.

After Jack had finished, the Doctor let out a shaky breath, and tried to compose himself, running a hand through his hair…before asking, "You don't sound very well, how much blood did you loose?"

At that, Rose clapped a hand over her mouth in shock, and the Doctor shook his head apologetically, trying to silently tell her not to worry.

"Don't worry about me Doc, I'll make it up really soon…just come up with a plan to fix this. For all you know, they could be old Torchwood 1 scientists or something…out for Timelord physiology."

The Doctor gulped a little, trying to rid himself of his now painfully dry throat, before answering, "I don't think it would be something like that…Jack where are you? We're on or way."

**-- Doctor Who --**

The Doctor and Rose skidded around the corner of the department store, about four blocks away from the park they were just in, and raced down the side, where all the rubbish was put…and where the TARDIS had been hidden.

Rose had been watching the Doctor closely, after he told her what had happened. He was, like she had suspected, trying to stay objective, and clear minded…however, she could see the turmoil in his eyes, when she caught glimpses, and the quiet muttering that escaped his lips, as they sprinted down the streets of London.

As they ran to the tall, blue Police box, she heard him again, just under his breath…and it was breaking her heart. "Please, please not again, I can't lose them again."

The Doctor threw open the door, and raced inside, Rose on his heels, closing the door as he set co-ordinates to find Jack.

He pulled down a lever sharply, and then the TARDIS lurched, in what Rose considered, a rather hasty way. She looked over at the Doctor, who was patting the console, and muttering for the ship to calm down a bit.

They landed relatively better than they took off, and exited into a dirty alley, the Doctor taking the lead, and racing to the back of the alley, having guessed that was where they would find Jack,

Rose left the comfort of the TARDIS doorway, and walked towards the silhouette of the Doctor, who had just stooped to the ground. Picking up the pace a little, she ran around a large pile of rubbish, only to jump back in surprise, when she saw one of her best friends slumped against the rough brick wall, his light blue shirt stained almost black with blood.

"Oh my god Jack…what happened?" gasped Rose, pulling herself together, and going to lend a hand to the Doctor in getting Jack to his feet.

Jack himself, smiled cheekily, answering, "I had an altercation with a a guy and his gun."

Rose rolled her eyes, and retorted, "You know, just because you can't die Jack Harkness…doesn't mean that you go and run into every fatal situation that you come across."

Jack opened his mouth to bite back, but then closed it, looking confused, and commenting, "Um, there would have been a punch line there…hadn't got up to that bit yet, but it woulda been good."

Rose smiled, but noticed that the Doctor wasn't focused at all, locked inside his own head. When Jack looked over to her, she nodded at the Timelord, silently asking him to do something.

Jack tighten the arm that the Doctor had thrown over his own shoulders, pulling him into a sort of semi-hug, and saying comfortingly, "Don't worry, we'll find him before anything bad happens."

At this, the Doctor let out a bitter laugh, that unnerved Rose a little, and said, "Do you know how many people I have said that to? And do you know how many times something bad _did _happen?"

Jack sighed, keeping his arm wrapped around the scared Timelord, nodding his understanding, having said it to a lot of people himself. "Doctor, we will find him…I give you my word."

Roses heart broke again, when the Doctor sniffed, before nodding, and giving Jack a sad but grateful smile.

She knew how hard it would be for the Doctor, if anything happened to the Master…not only was he the only other Timelord in the universe, but the two of them had bonded as close as brothers, and to have that ripped away from him, would be awful.

Seeming to come out of the recesses of his mind, the Doctor took charge, readjusting the arm that was resting around his shoulders, and looking over at Rose, a cocky grin spreading across his face, which made Rose feel much more certain that things were going to work out.

"Rose, I need you to call Martha and Mr Mickey, tell them what has happened, and tell them to meet us behind the Fish n Chips shop that we dropped them off at. Jack, we're gonna help this blood loss issue along a bit."

Rose nodded, taking out her phone, and dialling in Mickey's mobile number, while the Doctor led a protesting Jack into the med-bay.

"Doc, really, this doesn't matter, give me five minutes-"

"And you will be able to just walk by yourself…give me your arm, and you will be good as new," interrupted the Doctor, eyebrow raised at how Jack seemed to shrink away from the needle he was holding.

"What?"

Jack swallowed, and mumbled, "Don't like needles."

The Doctor stopped himself from laughing, and gave the immortal man an even more quizzical look, saying, "You can be shot, beaten, trampled, electrocuted, radiated, exterminated…sucked of life…without flinching, but you can't take a small jab?"

Jack still didn't move his arm, and the Doctor sighed, saying exasperatedly, "Oh, come on Jack…it's just a needle, what can it do to you?"

Looking down into his lap, Jack replied miserably, "Erase years of your life from memory."

"Oh," is all the Doctor could say, feeling slightly guilty for finding the fear rather funny. He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, before saying, "Yeah, it can do that…but I promise, this will only assist the blood growth," he held out his hand, and asked, 'Trust me?"

Jack sighed, swallowing a bit, before placing his hand in the Doctors.

**-- Doctor Who --**

The Doctor and Jack walked into the control room, Jack now walking completely by himself, no longer feeling sick and dizzy, and wearing a dark grey Jumper from the Doctor's last incarnation's wardrobe.

They were both however, surprised to find Martha and Mickey standing inside the large room, talking to Rose.

"Hello, what are you two doing here?" asked the Doctor, smirking as Jack self-consciously tugged at the jumper.

"We were just around the corner weren't we," answered Mickey, who had the appearance of somebody who had just run a mile to impress someone. The Doctor gave him a disbelieving look, and he conceded, muttering so only the Doctor could hear, "Martha made me run here."

The Doctor chuckled, and then turned to Martha, who appeared to be looking rather angrily triumphant. "What?"

Rolling her eyes, Martha answered, "Has it even crossed your mind that the Master is behind all of this?"

The Doctor didn't look surprised at all, mainly because he wasn't. He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, and saying, "Martha, the Master is not behind this. I know what he did to your family-"

"Which is exactly why I don't trust him…you shouldn't either…her tortured you Doctor!" she bit back, emphasising the last bit.

"And I can't help to notice all of your points, are said in past tense," retorted the Doctor, getting visibly defensive.

"Well I wouldn't know if he has been hurting you past then, would I…all I have-"

"Is my word. Isn't that not enough?" asked the Doctor, and icy edge to his voice.

Martha however, was undeterred, pushing on bravely, "Not really…because you have a track record of defending people not worth defending."

The Doctor sighed, giving his former travelling companion, a half warning, half pleading look, and saying, "Martha, please, just trust me. He has changed…I know he wouldn't do this, and not only for that reason mind you."

Martha looked genuinely surprised by that, asking, "And what's that then?"

"Well," replied the Doctor, taking a deep breath and stuffing his hands into his pockets. "One, he has changed, B!, no…two, I doubt even he would be able to plan this and pull it off without my realising, especially with a psychic inhibitor in his arm. Three, he wouldn't make himself the victim like this."

The entire room was confused now, giving the lanky Alien questioning looks.

"Well, you all know him…if he was trying to escape, it would be a grand, well planned event, making himself look brilliant…oh! And he wouldn't just leave Jack dead in the alley, if he knew that in a minute or two, he would be up and about again."

Martha sighed, and answered, "Fine, I'm convinced, but how are we going to get to him? Have you got a plan?"

The Doctor scratched the back of his head, letting out a long breath, before saying…"I. Am. Working on it…don't give be those looks! You've got nothing either!"

"We're not the one who goes dancing throughout the universe, yelling that we're brilliant," retorted Mickey, a smirk tugging at his lips.

The Doctor gaped at all of them, and stuttered, "I do not go dancing- that is- I am…what in the name of Rassilion is this? Humans United?"

**-- Doctor Who --**

"I want to talk to the manager of this hotel!" called the Master, his voice echoing off of the wall outside his cell.

"I distinctly remember ordering the Platinum service…and this wouldn't even suffice for silver," he added, mockingly.

"Firstly, my room is extremely bare, not the luxurious suite I am paying for!" he called, looking at the small room he was locked inside as he yelled it.

It was made almost completely out of concrete…walls, floors, ceiling…but one wall wasn't concrete, but grating, a barred door set in that.

"I ordered room service hours ago!"

He had been stuck down here for hours now, and not seen or heard anything…he was yet to decide whether or not that was a good or bad thing.

"I wanted to do some sight seeing, but appear to have problems with getting out to the city, because my hands are tied to the floor!"

His hands had indeed been bound tight behind his back, by a coarse rope, that dug into his skin as he tried to pull it free of the metal loop securing him to the ground.

If this hadn't been the case, he probably would have picked the lock by now, and be already skipping his way to freedom. A year of holding Harkness prisoner, had been quite educational…having learnt since then, how to pick almost twenty different locks, not to mention the good forty something techniques he had known before then.

"And I would like to complain if I may…about the bloody great lump on the side of my head!!" he yelled down the hall, as loud as he could.

"There is no way I am recommending this place to any of my colleagues, who by the way…are going to find me, get me out of here, and put this place out of business!" he called, confidence ringing in his voice.

However, internally, he was a little bit iffy about that. He had to admit, the evidence was not looking good for him, and he wouldn't be surprised if Harkness and _Martha Jones _thought he had come up with it all along.

They didn't bother him, however, what conclusion the Doctor and Rose came to did. What if they came here, thinking that he was behind it, and he would have to try and get them to trust him all over again. Worse, what if they don't come after him, and leave him here with these people.

What if they couldn't find him…"No, that's stupid. The Doctor can find a needle in a the Horse head nebular…however infuriating it is. No, no problem at all."

Nodding to himself a little, the Master gave another experimental tug of his arms, wincing as the ropes dug into his now raw wrists.

'This is ridiculous,' the Master grumbled inside his head. 'I didn't even do anything this time. Is walking through alley's illegal. What the hell happened to Harkness anyway? Maybe they have him here.'

"Harkness!" he yelled, crouching, because his knees were beginning to really ache badly.

"Come on you Impossible little monkey, you here?" he yelled, getting a little more nervous.

"Looks like it's just you and me," shrugged the Master to his shadow, smirking at how crazy he looked.

"Haven't even got the drums now, because of that bloody inhibitor…sigh oh well, we'll give it an hour tops, before the Doctor finds me."

He dropped back down to his knees, sitting in silence for a grand total of ten seconds, before whining loudly, "Come on, this is boring. You haven't even got any music playing. I'll take anything, Scissor sisters?"

There was no reply.

"Twisted Sister?"

No reply.

"Oh come on. ACDC? Sex Pistols? The Killers? Linkin Park? I'll take ABBA…wait, scratch that, NO ABBA!…come on this is boring"

The silence still rang through the hall and cell, the Master groaning, and saying sarcastically, "Thankyou. No ABBA."

His silence was however, broken by the sharp clicking, of high heels on concrete, coming toward his cell. Putting on a mask of complete boredom, the Master sat back on his haunches, saying, "The service of this place is just disgusting. Where are all the towels and packets of soup left out for me to steal- You!"

The woman outside of the cell grinned, and said triumphantly, "Hello Harry."


	9. Chapter 9

**- Chapter Nine - Trouble -**

**After **a couple seconds of shocked silence, the Master caught himself, and forced composure to return, pulling a smirk over his features, and saying laxly, "Hmmm, should of known…a little bit too Hollywood to be original, although, I have to admit, I am impressed you remembered how to restart the satellite system."

On the other side of the cell, Lucy glared at the tied up Timelord, who was mocking her so confidently, an air of control flowing around him, as though she were the one in the cell, or that he had known about the trap all the time, and just went along with it.

But then a few words of comfort that the same man had uttered to her a couple of years back came to mind, and she felt in control again. 'Never mistake confidence for bravado. Confidence is for when your winning, and bravado is when you're losing and trying to hide it."

With that in mind, Lucy Saxon was able to let a genuine triumphant grin slide onto her face, and say coolly, "You say that as if hypnotizing the world isn't blockbuster worthy at all."

The Master shrugged, best he could anyway, and changed subject. "What am I doing here anyway? Wait, let me guess…revenge? One question though, why are you trying to get revenge against me?"

Lucy's demeanour changed, a scowl settling on her features. The Master rose an eyebrow when she turned her back to him, and commented sarcastically, "Oh yes, just walk away from your problems and they cease to exist…sorry Lucy, that doesn't work, and I speak from experience."

However, when Lucy turned back to face him, his cocky act was replaced by a small frown of confusion, as to why she was grinning again, and what she had just put back into her pocket.

Seconds later, the door to the long corridor that the Master's cell was in slammed open, and a pair of bulky men walked over to Lucy, who greeted them, and opened the cell door.

"Oh…and you lot say that you're not apes, honestly."

One of the men walked over to the crouched Timelord, who glared up at him. He chuckled, as he undid the rope attaching the Master to the floor, before tying it tighter around his hands, and grabbing a fistful of hair, pushing his prisoner over to the blonde woman, who was scowling again.

The Master grinned at her, despite being in a particularly vulnerable position, saying casually, "Bondage, little kinky don't ya think?"

Smirking herself, Lucy nodded to the second man, who grinned, before driving his fist as far into the Masters abdomen as he possibly could.

The Master doubled over, only to be jerked back up by the bloke tugging at his hair. He still wore a smirk, as he tried to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him, before asking, "What do you want Lucy?"

"I want revenge," hissed Lucy angrily, getting angrier still when the Master let out a joyous laugh, saying smugly, "Yep, I was right."

His comment was met with another punch, but being ready this time, it didn't hurt nearly as much as Lucy had wanted.

"Right then my faithful companion, what do you want revenge for?" asked the Master, grimacing slightly as his hair got tugged at again, but the smirk didn't waver.

Lucy was scowling furiously at him, and hissed her response. "You ruined my life."

"Did I?" sighed the Master, boredom clear in his voice.

"Yes you did Harry," answered Lucy, furious beyond reason at her former husbands callousness.

"Yeah, well I do that to a lot of people, the entire Human race most recently, and they seemed to have been able to move o-" But he was cut of mid-rant, by a sharp, surprising slap to the face, and that shocked the Master more than he would ever care to admit.

Once again, he forced composure and tried to appear completely at ease, but his shock was getting the better of him.

The usually brash Timelord let out an unusually shaky chuckle, for he had just realised then and there, that he wasn't in control of this situation…otherwise Lucy would have never had the audacity to hit him…he was in trouble.

**-- Doctor Who --**

**(Meanwhile on the TARDIS)**

"Can we track him?" asked Jack, as he spun around, and started to pace to the opposite side of the room once again. He rubbed the back of his head irritably, seemingly under the impression that it would encourage some better ideas to surface.

The Doctor passed him mid way, pacing in the opposite direction, and choosing not to let his hands go towards his hair, for fear that he might rip it out…and he liked his big hair, even if it wasn't ginger.

"No, the Psychic inhibitor doesn't double as a tracker…and it stops me from being able to find him through any telepathic link."

Jack sighed, spinning around again…and asking, "Do you have any blood samples, maybe my team could try and track his molecular signature."

"That wouldn't work. My last sample of his blood was from about a year ago, and unlike humans, a Timelord's blood changes the deeper into the regeneration they are."

Plainly frustrated, Jack let out a loud sigh, that sounded suspiciously like a growl, rubbed the back of his head again.

"The only way I can think of tracking him," started the Doctor, rubbing at his face despairingly. "Is if someone were to remove the inhibitor."

"Well that's good," commented Mickey, from where he, Rose and Martha were all sitting, not knowing how to help exactly.

The Doctor shook his head, and looked over at them, and replied, "No Mickey, that's not good…that's really bad. The inhibitor works, sort of like a dam…it holds back all psychic ability…telepathy, hypnotic ability, the drums apparently…but if the dam were to crumble, not crack, crumble…then a years worth of that would flow into him, it could kill him."

There was a short shocked silence, before Mickey gulped, and said, "Right, not good then."

"Then what do we do?" asked Jack, annoyed with himself for not being able to help more…but he was fresh out of ideas.

The Doctor sighed, and sat down on the captain's chair, rubbing at his face again, before finally announcing, "I don't know."

A heavy silence fell over everybody in the room, even the TARDIS herself, seemed quieter than usual.

**-- Doctor Who --**

**(Where we left off in the Master****'****s cell)**

Stamping down his shock, the Master turned back to face Lucy, and demanded, "Right then, How did I ruin your life?"

Lucy was in control, and she knew it. She had seen the flash of fear in the Master's eyes, seen how shocked he was…and wanted to see it again.

So she slapped him again, just as sharp and unexpected, before saying, "You made me watch as my race was destroyed."

The Master looked shocked, but it wasn't for the reason she wanted…for seconds later he burst out laughing, before saying incredulously, "I did no such thing."

She slapped him again, but it had lost its effect, because he laughed it off again, saying, "I forced you to dance as well I suppose, oh and I forced you to torment the Jones' and the Doctor when you got bored…yep, all me, oh the shame."

"You killed innocent people," she hissed, angry at her loss of power.

"You watched and laughed, who's worse Lucy, the Murderer, or the spectator?" countered the Master, grinning smugly once more.

Eyeing the captive Timelord with disgust, Lucy sneered, "You are such an arrogant freak."

"And yet you find it oddly attractive," grinned the Master, his attitude defiantly calm.

Lucy sighed, choosing to turn her attention to the two guards in the cell, saying to the man standing next to her, "Have you checked him for any trackers? The last thing we want is the Doctor to come and interfere."

"What have you got against the Doctor?" asked the Master curiously, cocking his head to the side slightly like a confused puppy.

"He's as bad as you," spat Lucy, glaring at the Master loathingly.

"Why, because his alien,?" demanded the Master, who- to his own surprise more than anyone else's, was starting to get rather defensive.

"Yes, because his an alien. An arrogant alien like you who reckons his better than humans," hissed Lucy, either not catching or caring about the small exchange of glances that her two guards shared, that said pretty clearly, '_the woman__'__s off her rocker__'_.

The Master didn't care about them either apparently, because he found himself biting back, "Were you unconscious throughout his sickening, 'tell me human's are degenerate now' rubbish."

"I don't care Harry, this has nothing to do with him," spat Lucy, turning back to the man beside her, all but screaming, "Well have you?!"

"We've searched him for tracking devices if that's what you mean? We took a watch, a mobile, and a beepy tracker looking thing" stated the guard bemusedly, still clearly under the impression that Lucy was completely mad…which of course she was, but still.

"How much are you paying for these idiots?" asked the Master curiously.

Lucy sighed, rolling her eyes, and took out a phone that the Master recognised easily.

"Thanks for this little thing by the way," muttered Lucy, as she fixed the settings on the Laser-screwdriver modified phone.

A bright flash of light flashed across that Master, and a series of beeps emitted from the phone as text jumped up on the screen.

"It says that there is a device in your right arm," announced Lucy, raising an eyebrow at the Master, who tugged a smirk onto his face once more, successfully hiding the fear that made him feel like he had just gotten punched in the stomach again.

"A device in your arm?"

The Master shrugged, saying simply, "I watched Casino Royale and couldn't resist."

Lucy let out a light laugh at his remark, but then returned her gaze to the guards, snapping to the same man, "Cut it out!"

"Wait what?" demanded the Master, struggling slightly out of instinct.

"I said chop it out, that could be a tracker or anything…you, chop it out."

The Guard standing behind him, kicked the back of the his knees roughly, sending him to the ground where he was pushed down further so that his arm was exposed to the second guard, who had pulled out a flick knife, and crouched down next to the Master, who was starting to seriously worry about the grave road this little altercation had turned down once more.

He felt the cold metal of the blade press against his skin, breaking flesh and sending a sharp pain up his arm, which would of hurt a lot more if it wasn't for his Timelord level of pain tolerance, but what happened next was going to kill, pretty much literally.

The knife hit the small device, and the guard buried the tip of the blade underneath it. With a small flick of his wrist, the psychic inhibitor came out, and into the man's ready hand. Standing up, he smirked down at the Master's pale and vulnerable form, and dropped the small metal machine onto the concrete floor, before bringing his boot down heavily on top of it…crushing it.

It took less than a second for the effects to kick in, and as soon as they did, the Master let out a loud, scream of agony.

**-- Doctor Who --**

The Doctor let out a shocked, and slightly pained gasp, gaining everybody's attention, Jack and Rose and Martha all rushed over to him, Rose reaching him first and clutching his hand, asking anxiously, "Doctor, what's wrong?"

The Doctor almost bowled all three of them over, and sent Mickey who was standing just behind, jumping in the opposite direction, as he half leaped, half sprinted to the console.

"Doctor, what is it?!" asked Martha, fear clear in her voice.

The Doctor spun around, and faced all of them, announcing gravely before he pulled the lever sending them off to their next destination, "I know where the Master is…I can feel him."

**Well, that****'****s another chapter. It took longer than I expected, and wasn****'****t as good as I had hoped, but I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Right, let****'****s se. I don****'****t own Doctor Who, it****'****s characters, scenarios, etc. I don****'****t own the quote from Captain John Hart, because that was written for the people of Torchwood, and being I don****'****t write for the people of Torchwood, that wasn****'****t me.**

**I don****'****t own Casino Royale, but I do have it on DVD****…****brilliant movie.**

**Um, look anything you recognise from a movie, TV, etc. I don****'****t own it.**

**Oh! And thanks for reading, and I hope that you enjoyed and will review the chapter. Please do because **Reviews are the bricks in the wall of my education.


	10. Chapter 10

- Chapter Ten - Search and Rescue -

By Mad Eye Maddi

**Disclaimer **: I do not own Doctor Who, it's characters, scenarios etc.

I don't own James Bond, LOL- wish I did for both counts though :D

**Author's Note** : I am SO sorry it has taken so long for me to update. I honestly have been working on this chapter for ages, and it has been driving me absolutely mad. I couldn't get it right, and school kept ton getting in the way (Bloody nuisance LOL)

But here it is, chapter ten…I really hoped you like it, and I am really sorry for taking so long to update.

Please, please, please review, because reviews are the _**Bricks in the wall of my education.**_

-- Doctor Who --

**- One Year Previous -**

"This is such a bad idea," stated the Doctor, for what had to be the seventh time in the last ten minutes.

"No it's not," answered the Master, smirking to himself, but not looking up from the surface of the clean, metal examination table that he was sitting on, where his finger's were tapping out the sound of drums, somewhat of their own accord.

"Why are you doing this?" asked the Doctor, his voice screaming how much he wanted to know the answer. The Doctor actually sounded desperate at that moment.

So the Master decided to grace him with a proper explanation. Not looking up from his tapping fingers, he murmured, "The drumming. With every day, every hour, they get louder. It's like, being in the dark with a mosquito…just when I think they are going to quiet down for a bit, they get louder, and quicker. The only time they do quiet down, is when I am doing something horrendous."

"Is that why you do the stuff you do?" asked the Doctor, both curious for an answer and shocked by the one he had just received.

The Master nodded, ceasing his tapping, before looking up at the Doctor, and saying, "That is why I need to do this, I know it's a risk, but I can't take this for another couple hundred of years…It's quite literally doing my head in."

Sighing slightly, the Doctor nodded his understanding. He looked up at the clock that was fixed above the door, and announced, "The local should have taken affect, it's now or never."

The Master flashed him an enthusiastic grin, slipping off the table and onto an uncomfortable plastic chair, lying his now numb arm onto the metal surface, and replying, "Let's do it."

The Doctor nodded, and began to wipe disinfectant onto the marked out skin, asking casually, "Why your arm?"

"Well," began the Master, drawing out the word like the Doctor often did, "You remember that James Bond movie we watched the other week? The one with Daniel Craig-"

-- Doctor Who --

- Present Day -

The guard crushed the inhibitor under his heavy boot, reviling in the feel of the metal of the small device folding in on itself. However, before he could so much as move his boot away from the small mess, the man that they had been hired to 'rough up a little', collapsed to the ground completely, letting out such a tortured scream that anyone would think that he had caught fire.

Quickly the bulky guard jumped away from the man, and stumbled over to his friend, pushing his bulk against the metal grating of the cell front. They watched in horror, as the man curled himself into a tight ball, hands still fighting against the rope that held them tight behind his back.

Both guards exchanged bewildered glances as the tall, blonde woman who had hired them, raced over to the fallen man, dropping to her knees and attempted to untie the rope. Tears were rolling quickly down her face, as she struggled with the coarse line.

If the guards had not turned tail and ran out of the door that second, they would of heard Lucy Saxon stumble through her tears, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I love you…I'm sorry."

-- Doctor Who --

The TARDIS slowly materialised in the back of another alley, right beside the building the Doctor insisted the Master was inside.

The second they were fully materialised, the Doctor sped out of the tall blue box, quickly followed by Rose, Jack, Martha and finally Mickey.

They quickly looked around, to discover that they had landed themselves in yet another dark, damp, claustrophobic, litter filed alley. Only the severity of the situation at hand stopped Rose from commenting sarcastically, "You take us to the nicest places."

The Doctor quickly instructed them to split up, and search for the door that would grant them entrance to the building on the right side of the alley. So Rose quickly raced to check the front of the alley, while Jack started to shift rubbish at the back, leaving the Doctor, Martha and Mickey to search in between.

After a couple of minutes of groping in the dark, the odd cry of disgust echoing through the small passage when somebody found something particularly disgusting, Mickey caught sight of what looked like a door handle, and frantically began to move the rubbish covering it, shouting, "Doctor, I think I found something."

The Doctor quickly ran over also, and together Mickey and he shifted all the rubbish standing in their way, to reveal an old, warped wooden door, that barely looked like it was being held up by its hinges.

The Doctor quickly spun around to face the rest of the group, who had raced over with him at Mickey's call, and announced in an authoritive voice, "Right, you three stay here, Jack, with me."

As expected, Rose and Martha both gaped at him, and yelled in unison, "What!"

However, before they could say anymore, the Doctor cut them off, saying, "Listen, there is no way that I am going to risk your lives unnecessarily. First, Jackie and Francine would murder me, second, the people who are doing this didn't have any problem with shooting Jack down in cold blood, I would hazard a guess that the same goes for you, and you three can't regenerate or revive yourselves."

And as much as they would have liked to, or wished it were otherwise, neither Rose nor Martha could think of an argument against those facts. All any of them could offer was a grudging, "Be careful."

In return, the Doctor gave them one of his manic grins, before turning to Jack, and jerking his head towards the door.

Quickly he took out his sonic screwdriver, and began to work on the settings, saying distractedly, "Just hold on a sec, I gotta set the righ-"

But before he could finish the sentence, a loud bang echoed through the alley. The Doctor's head quickly snapped up, to find Jack stepping back from the doorway, rubbing his shoulder and grinning at him smugly.

After a couple of seconds, the Doctor noticed that he had been staring, and that he was still holding the sonic screwdriver up at eye level. Quickly his bewildered expression gave way to a nonchalant shrug, mumbling sourly, "Or you could do that."

He then quickly span around to face the others, who were smirking at him, and ordered in a serious voice, "Right, you three, back to the TARDIS."

"But what if you get hurt?" asked Rose, biting her lip nervously.

The Doctor smiled at her, replying, "Better me than you…besides, I won't." And with that, he turned on his heel, and dashed into the derelict building, completely consumed by the dark from inside.

Jack offered them an apologetic glance before quickly following him.

-- Doctor Who --

A thick darkness fell over both Jack and the Doctor, as they made their way further into the derelict building. It appeared they were inside a condemned factory of some sorts, which made searching both better and worse for them.

On one hand, there wasn't as many rooms that the Master could be in, and that would save them time…however, on the other hand, a factory would usually be far larger than an apartment building, and the closer the Doctor got to his fallen companion, the more overwhelmed he was becoming by the psychic power flowing through him. Jack also was starting to feel some discomfort through his own low-level of telepathic ability…he shuddered to think how agonising it would be for the Master.

So the sooner they found him, the better.

However, finding someone was always made far more difficult when you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face., because it was that dark.

So the Doctor quickly whipped out his sonic screwdriver, and held it out at arms length so to provide them with as much light as possible. Following his lead, Jack pulled out his own small torch from his coat pocket, and held it level with his Webley revolver.

"Would you put that gun down," hissed the Doctor, as they set off down the halls once more.

Jack rolled his eyes, and hissed back, "I know what you think about people with guns Doctor…but I think I would rather have mine ready if those guards are still here."

"That's so Torchwood," growled the Doctor, not really angry at Jack or Torchwood at all, but the small argument was a good distraction from his worry over the Master, and Jack was probably the only one of the group who understood he needed it.

So instead of being insulted, Jack bit back, "That may be, but if you get shot and have to regenerate…Rose and Martha will put that year with the Master to shame."

The Doctor opened his mouth to respond to Jack, but the words seemed to get caught in his throat. He stopped dead in the middle of the hall, eyes widening and his heart rate increasing with dread.

Jack stopped also, turning to the skinny Timelord with a look of concern and confusion on his face.

Before he could ask what was wrong, the Doctor murmured, "Can you hear that?"

Cocking to his head to the side in surprise, Jack listened hard, expecting to be met with only silence. SO he was surprised when he heard a faint groan, which sounded like it had come from-

"This way!" cried the Doctor, spinning on his heel, and hurdling down the hall they had just come down, wrenching open a door near the end of it.

Both Jack and the Doctor sped down the set of stairs that stood behind the door, and found themselves standing in another narrow hall.

Jack could hear the pained moaning better now, they were close to finding the Master.

They didn't have far to travel, before they found the makeshift cell.

If the Doctor didn't know that the likelihood of both of his hearts stopping at once, was practically nil, then he would have sworn that they did the moment he saw the Master. He was lying on the hard concrete floor, curled into a ball, pained moans escaping from his lips. There was a rope, still attached to one hand, that was clutching at the side of his head, in an attempt to relieve some of the pain…while the other had was clutching something else…another hand.

It was only then, the Doctor noticed Lucy Saxon, sitting next to his fallen companion, staring hopelessly at her one time love.

"You," he gasped in surprise. Of all the people, races and/or organisations he would have guessed had been behind the Master's abduction, Lucy Saxon was definitely at the bottom of the list.

She shifted her gaze from the Master to the Doctor, her expression of hopelessness quickly giving way to one of relief and hope. Gathering her wits about her, she yelled, "What are you doing,? Help him!"

Ignoring the fact that the Master wouldn't need helping if Lucy had not done anything to him, the Doctor followed her instructions, and raced into the cell, crouching beside him and Lucy, who was still clutching at his hand.

"Master, Master…can you here me. Koschei please," begged the Doctor, terrified that the onslaught had caused some serious neurological damage.

However, when the Master cracked open his eyes to glare at him, and hissed in a pained voice, "That's not my name," the Doctor could have laughed out loud in relief.

He grinned down at the Master, and asked gently, "What's going on in that head of yours Koschei?"

Sighing in frustration, the Master answered, "A lot of things, at once…and they're all hurting. Would you hurry up and do something."

"I'm working on it right now," murmured the Doctor, closing his eyes, and focusing on his own telepathic walls, attempting to make them as strong as possible…otherwise what he was about to do would REALLY hurt.

It took a moment, but the Doctor was convinced that he had blocked every sensitive and important part of his mind, and quickly pressed the tips of his fingers onto the Master's temples. He quickly looked up to Jack, who had crouched down next to him as well, and had fixed him with an understanding gaze, telling him without words- that he knew what the Doctor was about to do, and he would take care of everything.

Nodding gratefully, the Doctor closed his eyes, and whispered to the Master, "Now Master, I want you to open your mind, and don't try and fight me okay."

"You sure you know what you're doing?" asked the Master, concern evident in his pained voice.

"Oi, I was able to, if you would remember, infiltrate you silly satellites without you noticing."

Smirking weakly, the Master opened up his mind to the Doctor, who opened up his own- and absorbed the energy that was attacking the other Timelord. Letting out a small gasp of pain, the Doctor drained all of the energy from him, absorbing it completely, before falling limp beside the Master's unconscious form.

-- Doctor Who --

Rose and Martha were both still fuming at their exclusion from the Master's rescue…both seeing the reasoning behind it, but promptly choosing to ignore that in favour for the injustice of the situation.

However, any ill feeling toward the Doctor was instantly forgotten, when the TARDIS door swung open, revealing a tall, blonde woman, who walked straight inside.

Behind her, shuffled in Jack. He had the Master's limp body hauled over his left shoulder, and was half carrying, half dragging the Doctor's.

Mickey quickly rushed over to help, while Martha and Rose stared in horror.

"What happened to them?" Martha asked, recovering first thanks to her medical experience.

"Are they alive," asked Rose, also gathering herself, and walking over to where Jack had settled the Master's body on the grating floor, the Doctor beside him.

"Yes, they're both alive. The Doctor took on all of the energy from the Master, and absorbed it…so they have both gone into a sort of healing hibernation," answered Jack, trying his best to sound reassuring and to keep his own worry out of his voice.

"Like when the Doctor regenerated?" asked Rose.

"Exactly."

Martha knelt down and placed her middle and forefinger on the side of the Doctor's neck, stating, "His heart-rate is normal…well, for him anyway." She spun around to the Master, and checked his pulse as well, commenting, "It's weird having someone other than the Doctor with a double heartbeat…but his is stable also."

Everybody in the room visibly relaxed, a feeling of relief washing over all.

However after a moment, Jack remembered their latest passenger, and turned to glare at Lucy, who had her eyes fixed on the Master. "Mickey, take Ms Saxon to one of the rooms please, and be sure to lock the door behind you."

Looking confused, but obeying none the less, Mickey lead the way through the halls of the TARDIS, Lucy following and having no apparent desire to do otherwise.

"Who's she?" asked Rose, staring after the odd woman in confusion.

"That's Lucy Saxon Rose, the Master's…well, Harold Saxon's wife," Martha answered, glaring after the woman.

Rose's eyes widened in surprise, but before she could ask anymore questions, Jack stood up and walked over to the control console, and began to set co-ordinates, announcing over his shoulder, "Right, first we have to drop in and check up on my kiddies…let them take care of Lucy for a bit, before the Doctor…and the Master can decide on what to do. And then, I reckon it's probably best if we popped in and said hi to your mum."

Rose grinned broadly, sitting down in between the Doctor and the Master, clutching both of their hands, and replied, "Brilliant idea Jack."

**Once again, PLEASE review. I really hope you liked the chapter, sorry for taking so long.  
I promise, give my word, everything, that the next one will be up within a couple of days.**


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: Bloody hell, this is worse than last time.  
Sorry guys…it seems that beating off Writer's Block with a stick _really_ doesn't work LOL

Anyway, here is a nice, hopefully fluffy chapter for you, and I endeavour to finish the story within the week…or month…possibly year XD No, I'll try to have it up ASAP.

Sorry again

Hope you enjoy.

-- Doctor Who --

It was late into the night before anyone in the Tyler mansion even began to consider getting some sleep, and quite a lot later before anyone of them actually did head off to their designated bedrooms, Pete and Jackie trying hard to accommodate everyone.

It was quarter-to-four in the morning before everyone apart from Jack had gone to sleep. Along with his fifty-first century biological makeup and his worry over the two still-unconscious Timelords, Jack wasn't able to force his body to relax enough to get some rest.

Sighing, he heaved himself off of the large bed that he had been vacating, and walked out of the spare bedroom that Pete had found for him.

His feet took him, with no conscious effort on his half, to the door of Rose's room, where the Doctor and the Master were lying in their healing coma's. He slowly opened the door, and slipped inside.

He stayed by the doorway for a short while, until his eyes adjusted to the darkness, before catching sight of Rose, sitting in the middle of the room… or more likely, in the middle of her bed and the fold out bed that the Timelords were resting on.

She had sat herself down there the moment they had arrived at the mansion, and refused to move for any reason shape or form.

She seemed to be fighting back the exhaustion her body was feeling, if the drooping head and fluttering eyelids were anything to go by, but wouldn't let herself sleep.

A smile tugged at Jack's lips, as he grabbed a quilt that had been draped over the chair by the door, and walked over to the young Londoner. He sat down next to her, and threw the blanket over her legs.

She hadn't noticed him until he had sat down, she was that tired. Shaking his head, Jack put his arm around her shoulders and said reassuringly, "They are going to be fine."

Sighing, Rose nodded and replied, "I know…but that doesn't stop me from worrying about them. I hate seeing the Doctor like this, it's like when he regenerated. And it's just as bad with the Master."

Jack understood her worry, he had felt it many times for his own team. He smiled, tightening his grip of her shoulders, and replied quietly, "I know. I'm the same with my lot back in Torchwood. Doesn't matter if it's a gun wound or a runny nose, I get worried about them all the time. You should have seen me when they all caught the flu…I honestly don't know who had it worse off."

This elicited a small chuckle from Rose, who asked, "Sick bucket and everything?"

Jack grinned and answered, "Yep. Ianto was the one with the sick bucket, didn't want to kiss him that day that's for sure, Gwen needed a shipment of tissues- never going to be able to look at her the same way after seeing what she pumped out her nose. I had to pretty much smother Owen before he opened his mouth for the medicine, you wouldn't expect that from a doctor. And Tosh had to be forcibly removed from her workstation, three times."

Now Rose was laughing loud and happily…a little too loudly actually, Jack quickly made some shhh-ing noises in between his own chuckles.

After a while, they both calmed down, Rose leaning happily into Jack and resting her head on his shoulder. For almost fifteen minutes they sat in comfortable silence, until Rose noticed that Jack had nodded off.

Laughing quietly to herself, she sniggered under her breath, "So much for your fifty-first century spiel eh Jack?"

Since she couldn't move, and there was no point stay awake when absolutely everyone else in the house was asleep, Rose decided that there was no harm in resting her eyes for a little while, because they were stinging with the effort of staying open.

-- Doctor Who --

Groaning painfully, the Doctor rolled onto his stomach, trying to get back to sleep because his body was aching and he really didn't want to be awake to feel it.

However, his brain started to kick in, and it started wondering why he would be aching so badly…and when he had felt like this last-

With a jolt of panic, the Doctor flipped over and sat up, hurriedly looking at his arms and touching his face, trying to find any changes, while muttering profusely, "Oh not again Rose is going to kill me."

He looked down to find that he was in a pair of pyjamas that weren't his, in a bed that wasn't his, and in a bedroom that looked like Rose's. These signs were all adding up to a big picture that didn't bode to well for himself.

He was about to run and find a mirror or shiny surface of some sort, when on the other side of the room, a sharp and panicked gasp came from the midst of a surprisingly large pile of blankets, and the Master's head poked up out of it.

He too was trying to find signs of a regeneration, well one hand was while the other clutched at the side of his head.

The Doctor caught his companion's attention, and asked quickly, "Have I changed? Do I still look the same?"

Never one to miss an opportunity to snark at his rival, the Master replied, "Unfortunately, onto more important things…what about me?"

A flash of irritation swept through the Doctor soon, almost instantly replaced with relief and a touch of mischief.

He frowned seriously and inspected the Master's unchanged form, before declaring solemnly, "I'm afraid the news isn't too good."

The Master gaped at him, and started touching his face again, muttering in his panic, "No, I can't have regenerated, not again."

It was then that Rose woke up, and cried happily…in Jack's ear, "You're awake!!"

With a yelp, Jack woke up also, clutching his ear and sending an accusing glare at Rose, who didn't notice or care, as she was in the middle of squeezing the air out of the Doctor's lungs.

The Master didn't seem to care too much either, because he barked at Jack, "You…girly freak."

"Oh it's so good to have you back," sighed Jack sarcastically, resting his elbow on his knee and propping his head up.

"Whatever…have I changed? Regenerated I mean?"

Frowning slightly in confusion, Jack answered in a slow voice, "Nooo."

The Master looked relieved for a second, before fixing his gaze on the Doctor and glaring daggers at him. "You said that I regenerated!"

The Doctor smirked over Rose's shoulder and replied, "No, I said the news was bad. And it was, you haven't changed a bit."

Huffing indignantly, the Master crossed his arms over his chest and leaned moodily against the headboard, pointedly ignoring the Doctor and Jack's chuckling.

Rose gently slapped the Doctor's arm, and quickly went over to the Master, who was sulking quite effectively in his bed. Smiling she leaned in and hugged him, surprised when he happily hugged her back, and said, "I don't think it's a bad thing."

He smile one of his rare genuine smiles, and replied happily, "Thank you."

Rose hugged him once more, before pulling back and announcing, "I have to go get Martha, she's going to be so relieved that you are okay."

"When you say you, you mean the Doctor right?" asked the Master, an eyebrow quirking up.

"Well…yeah," replied Rose, a little awkwardly.

The Master grinned, and lied back down on his bed with his arms folded behind his head. "Oh good, it would be weird if she started liking me."

Rolling her eyes, Rose went off to get the young doctor.

-- Doctor Who --

"Get in!" bellowed Martha, shoving the Master through the door of his and the Doctor's room none too lightly.

"I'm going you crazy woman," cried the Master, glaring over his shoulder, before sitting on his bed and crossing his arms moodily.

"Not going to work," snapped Martha, before spinning around and turning to the Doctor and Jack.

Seeing they were in trouble, the Doctor- who was sitting in his bed reading one of Pete's Agatha Christy books, and Jack who was sitting on the ground in front of the bed relaxing, gave her their most charming smiles, only to be met with a stony, "Not going to work either."

"Ah but you see Martha," began the Doctor, closing the book neatly on his lap and holding up a hand, "Jack and myself haven't actually done anything, I believe it was the Master you were angry at."

Catching sight of the Master glaring at them, Jack shrugged and replied, "You can't always save everyone."

Martha glared more at the Doctor and hissed angrily, "You said you would keep watch on him!"

"Yes I did," began the Doctor, only to be interrupted by Jack saying, "He watched him walk right out the door."

"You haven't got over the Satellite 5 thing have you?"

"Not quite yet…but we're getting there."

"Would you all shut up?!" cried Martha, feeling like her head was dangerously close to exploding…or dissolving into a steaming puddle, one of the two. "You have just woken up from what can only be described as a coma, caused by serious head trauma which could have killed you both, and I am your doctor…please tell me, what is unreasonable about asking you to stay in bed for a couple of days?!"

There was a somewhat frightened silence on the Doctor and Jack's part, only broken…unhelpfully, by the Master who put in, "I never asked you to be my doctor."

Martha let out a frustrated growl, her hands clenching and unclenching in fists, in what can only be described as an attempt to calm down the incredible desire to squeeze them very tightly around a certain Timelord's oesophagus.

"Fine, that's it…you can drop dead for all I care, and I won't lift a finger to help, you see."

Thinking that he better set matters straight for everyone's safety, the Doctor timidly stated, "Martha, that also means you can't help him drop dead."

Growling angrily again, she pointed her finger at Jack and grounded out, "Watch them."

Jack was about to argue when the Doctor kicked him both subtly and hardly in the head, which caused him to forget everything until Martha was conveniently out of the room.

"Ouch."

"Exactly what I was saving you from if she can slap like her mother," replied the Doctor, picking up his book again.

--

Hope you enjoyed it. And as always, please review, because **Reviews are the bricks in the wall of my education**


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